The Woodsman
by The Sesh
Summary: In a world where Orochimaru was unopposed and brought civilisation down it its knees. With all trace of men left to fade into myth and legend. Hinata found herself at the bottom of the pecking order. Yet she was able to find solace in a single woodsman, Naruto, who shares her pain. No original cannon, Naru/Hina, rated M for reasons, Most characters are gender swapped to female
1. Chapter I

**Hello readers and welcome to my second attempt at fan-fic. I have not abandoned the other one I am just taking a short creative rest while I work out exactly what I want in the first one. This new fan fiction, is nothing like it. It was a 'hey I think it would be a cool idea.' so I went with it.**

 **This will probably not be a harem but more of a straight relationship between Naruto and Hinata. Focussing largely on Hinata's point of view, for the beginning at-least. Naruto is more intelligent, technically less powerful but still powerful in my story, and probably just as clueless to social cues.**

 **Aside from that this is basically throwing all original timeline and plot to the wind, If you've read my authors notes before each chapter from my other story ' _A Storm from the West'_ I believe I go on about how much I wanted to avoid repeating the manga's plot line. But I might nab a few ideas and similar plot-lines, just to get my creative juices flowing. I'll also try to keep up the characters personality despite being a different gender (Sasuke will always be Sasuke). I certainly have a few story arcs to go over and I'll try to keep each chapter to reasonable length (3,000-5,000 words).**

 **Jutsu and chakra is also massively played down, it still exists but a far-cry from the original content (see it like a forgotten art) Beyakugan can still see chakra but no-where near the clarity usually mentioned or the range. Sharingan still allows the user to perceive and react quickly, genjutsu is only for 'intimidation' but cannot distort reality.**

 **Second thing you will notice very early on is every character is female (girls will remain girls, not a total gender swap per say) Obviously few rare exceptions, I.E. Naruto is still going to be male, possibly others I don't know.** **If you have good idea for female names of male character I don't mind if you message me name ideas and if I like them I will change them accordingly. Just as of writing first editions I was lazy and just used original names.**

 **Kurama is not a demon of demons but instead fills in Naruto's shoes in team seven. Though she still hates the world.**

 **As with everything I trust reviews to be constructive and informative and please, no flames. But please enjoy, I am open to ideas and plot arcs but I still have my own bag of ideas.**

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 **Second edition notes:**

 **Some changes have been made about the names, I said I had not renamed some of the genders but I have now resolved that issue and renamed them as such:  
Sasuke as Sasuki  
** **Kiba as Kanna  
** **Shino as Chiho  
** **Kakashi as Kashina (not to be confused with Kushina)  
** **Lee as Leann  
** **Neji as Hanabi (it's a shame because I like Neji, might include him (yes a him) later though but Hanabi made more sense)  
Shikamaru as Shigeko  
Choji as Cho  
** **Sai as Sai still (I think names are less important to Sai seeing as it was given by Danzo.)  
Kotetsu as Kota  
Izumo as Itsumi  
** **Orochimaru as Orochimaru still (I doubt Orochimaru would care much that and he/she/whatever would have likely experimented and been either or neither girl or boy.)  
Hiruzen as Biwako (His wife essentially but similar in personality)  
Danzo as Damariss (struggled to find a good name but I hope this works out.)** **  
**

 **elders have name changes but they are less important and other names that are 'missing' from the list I have not written about between now and chapter VI.**

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 **Disclaimers, for now and future chapters:**

 **I do not own Naruto, its story, or its characters, and all rights go to the creator.**

 **Any opinions stressed in this story do not reflect my own personal opinion on certain subject matters.**

 **Rated M for safety (violence, language, adult themes etc maybe lemons (who knows))**

Hinata was a shy girl. A short description, one that would describe her with reasonable accuracy but as with all sweeping statements; it does not tell you her full story. She was at the age of sixteen. Had long straight, dark navy-blue hair. In some lights, her hair would be purple and in others almost black but her hair was not her most striking feature. The title was placed on her pale eyes. Her Iris was coloured as a crystal-clear white with the smallest specks of silver while her pupil was not of the customary black, but instead the same light silver as her iris. This gave her a usual distant look which was rare, but not unique. She knew of many sisters with the same trait, one of which lived with her at her home. She wore a baggie light violet jacket with a number of pockets made of scratch proof materials. In a pinch, her coat was even slightly waterproof and could keep the weather off from ruining her day. She also wore baggy pants which as far as utility was concerned was a useful item of clothing with more pockets and the weather proof material. Rarely, but on very hot days, she would undo her jacket to reveal a simple light-coloured T-shirt. Ranging in colours from pale green through to pitch black. Hinata chose loose-fitting clothes to try and hide her very feminine body. She was self-conscious since people started to admire her beauty as soon as her body had begun to develop. It was the first step to defining her as shy. She hated being compared to everyone she knew and it always dragged her into the spotlight during social interactions. Unfortunately, fate would not leave it there. Once she was known to be avoiding certain people, the loudest people, then people started to whisper behind her back. Whispers of the truth quickly got distorted and corrupted much like a real-life game of Chinese whispers. Rumours circulated and put people off approaching Hinata. The same rumours slashed at her confidence like a savage blade and soon Hinata found she was pushing people away as much as they pushed her away. Thus, the situation came in full circle and more rumours were created.

The shy girls' home was none other than Konoha. A very small village in the middle of the wilderness that was once known as the land of fire. One of the first settlements, or more accurately, colonies that had sprouted since the purge that occurred nearly one hundred years ago. The village only consisted of a handful of civic buildings and 'workshops' while the rest were houses and dormitories. Typically, four people who lived in each house and worked like a team. The idea being for each team to be self-sustaining with one teacher and three girls. The girls were around the same age and carried out various tasks in order to survive. However, theory and practice are two very different concepts. Hinata almost always worked alone and' self-sustaining' to survive was nigh on impossible. Before each girl moved here at the age of twelve they received an education at the capital city but this was an intense regime of culture, etiquette, and how to live as a civilised and productive member of society. All of which were so far removed from living in a colony such as Konoha it was almost laughable. Hinata knew how to eat like a noble but it was pointless when there was rarely anything to eat. Their 'teachers' did nothing to rectify the situation as they also did not know how to farm, hunt, or keep animals. As such they relied heavily on food aid from the capital, a very basic meal ration that tasted like plain porridge but at least prevented starvation. Alternatively, a member of the colony could forage, a very dangerous task as the years of leaving the world to its own devices had brought back many creatures previously thought to be extinct in the area and defence was another thing missed off their curriculum.

Konoha as a village was nestled in the ruins of a much older village. A larger space considered far more secure than the complete wilderness outside. Hinata's village may have its own walls to keep out anything lurking but old Konoha, the ruins of which their village's name was copied from, had great walls which still stood largely intact despite the years not being so kind on its façade. No one had the knowledge or strength to close the four great entrances and in a couple of places the wooden pillars had been crumbled by some forgotten event and so old Konoha was still a risky place to wonder from. More importantly, a fruitless place to forage. Being the safest meant most of the citizens of Konoha stuck to the decaying buildings and so never got anywhere. However, inside the great walls of old Konoha were not where you could find Hinata. She frequently strayed into the wilderness beyond. Large swathes of land were covered by a dense forest but if you were like Hinata, it was possible to navigate and find yet more abandoned settlements, hamlets, and farms. Each crumbling away to the mists of time and quickly overgrown by pioneering saplings and shrubs. Hinata much preferred it out here, with no one around and the quiet sounds of distant critters and the occasional gust of a light breeze to shake the leaves seemed to calm the girl down. She found a balance between curiosity and beauty from the landscape around her. Frequently she would allow herself to climb into a ruined house and explore. If she was lucky she could find something useful to bring back to her home and trade in for some food. Be it some tools, metals, or an assortment of tinkering items that had managed to survive. If she found something too large to move she would mark it on her hand drawn map and tell her 'teacher' about it when she returned just before sunset.

Hinata was never completely defenceless. She carried an old knife, kept sharp by rubbing the edge against a whetstone whenever she had grown bored waiting at home. Although, she had another trait that she found out as she explored the wilderness. If Hinata stood still and concentrated hard enough she found she could 'sense' if there were someone or something close by. She couldn't quite see the target in question but they seem to light up with some strange white pulse even if they were behind solid objects like walls or trees, betraying their position. She thought that this had something to do with chakra, a lifeforce which resides in every living thing. She had been taught about it before she had left the capital city and in what few books she was able to read had mentioned it, but as far as she knew, no one was able to use it in the way it was described in the books. Unfortunately, she chose to only use it in the wilderness. When Hinata found out she could 'sense' others she quickly realised the price of being different and so she accidently sealed the deal and she was officially socially ostracised from her own community. The shy girl had not realised what concentrating in such a way had done to her face until it was painfully pointed out to her by everyone in the room. As it turned out it strained the veins around her face and made her look like she was giving an ugly scowl that offended some and scared others. In the wilderness, she ended up using it fairly frequently as she did not have a huge range to her sight. At a push, and after about five minutes of concentration, she could just manage to make out the chakra across the size of a standard sports pitch. Which was good enough for most for the clearings she explored but meant she had to be patient when moving from area to area knowing full well if she made a mistake she could very well be killed.

At this very moment Hinata was currently exploring a large watermill. She was busy staring out of a collapsed wall onto the waterway that deemed to be cut out of the very rock. There was not enough water to push the large wooden wheel running down the shoot which Hinata had to admit it disappointed her somewhat. The wheel itself was just out of sight but she had given it a good long look at. Mostly intact but the wood was coated in a green moss and a few peddles had already fallen off into the shallow trickle of a stream. The building smelled of mould as damp had ruined virtually everything within the interior. Strapped to Hinata's back was a basket filled with some wild grains, mushrooms and berries that she found just before coming here. It was autumn and already the days felt like they were never hot enough to dry the constant feeling of dampness in the forest air. The girl sighed heavily and dragged her thoughts back to reality. The sun had long since passed the highest point of the day and she needed to return to the village before dark. This was often when she would collect and carry wood. On a bad day for collecting food she could use her basket but today the raven-haired girl was lucky enough to find enough food for a day or two. She looked through the dim interior of the watermill. The outside wheel seemed to be connected to a few cogs which connected to a pair of large circular stones. One laid on top of the other with a small rim to catch the ground flour up once it fell from in between the stones. They had one just like this in her village only the 'wheel' was wind powered and consisted of large sails to catch the wind in such a way they could turn the gears and by extension turn the quern stones. Hinata walked around and grabbed the wood off one bench that still stood by it felt solid enough still to be used as firewood but Hinata had no means to cut or carry the bench so instead she turned to a pair of barrels next to her. The wood felt damp to the touch but she quickly realised that had worked to her advantage. The nailed that held said barrels together had rusted through. Grabbing one plank and holding another she tugged with all her might. The material groaned and a loud snap echoed from the barrel. Another tug and it came loose. The mulch inside was too sticky and damp to fall from the newly formed gap. Hinata sighed and proceeded to dismember each plant from the barrel until she held as much wood as she could carry. Her hands were sore and filthy, she could see a small cut on one of her fingers that stung lightly in the hair she whipped off the sweat from her brow as now she was hot from the effort she had put in. Her last job of the day was to mark the building on her map. She could only carry the wood that two thirds of one barrel provided. The rest were good for another day. Fortunately, she was not far outside the towering walls of old Konoha and so was not in a rush to get back. Taking out a piece of paper from one of her pockets she opened it up on the bench that was handily there for her. The map consisted of places she had been over the past two years. Small drawing of landmarks and features which helped her navigate in case she got lost some buildings had notes and some were crossed out. Indicating what was there and whether or not she had cleared out the building. Typically, anything that a knife could get at and what she could carry was hers for the taking. The other girls would only dare venture out once she told them about a certain place and left them to pull the building down for anything remotely useful for the village. An effort that she surely could not do by herself.

Hinata quickly packed everything up and quickly concentrated on her senses. After she had concluded that there was nothing that would pose a threat. Perhaps a snake that she had spied would be from a venomous species but it was an easy task to avoid it. The girl hopped over the stream that was cut from the rock and continued into the forest. If it weren't for the trees she could probably easily see the walls themselves. It took her just under an hour before she could enter the old city. She gazed over the archway. Easily taller than a two-story building and arching over the entrance. The two-solid iron doors were permanently stuck open and slowly rusting away to nothing. In the middle of the arch once held presumably a large metal symbol of the village. Hinata mused it had been long since robbed out from the wooden archway leaving a clear space where it once was. Her eyes drifted down to five women waiting for her. A Stone must have sunk in her stomach. Any hint that she was enjoying herself quickly vanished as she approached the figures illuminated by the now low sun. It took her a while before she could recognise that two of them were from her team and the other three were from her sisters' team. This made it easy to name each one. On her team, she had Chiho and Kanna. Two girls selected because she could find them bearable. Chiho was shy like her and often wore clothes to cover her figure which Hinata knew to be thinner and more elegant than herself. Chiho usually kept herself to herself and often wondered away to find some bugs. Hinata was actually good friends with the girl behind the dark glasses as they usually talked with things they found together. The only issue about Chiho is she was a fan of her own company, always politely excusing herself from sustained social interaction to wonder off elsewhere by herself. Kanna, on the other hand, was a wild card and that reflected in much of her personality. Often enough she would try to include Hinata whenever possible but more often than not she would forget her when in certain company. She had shorter unkept hair that seemed to be roughly forced down into the position it sat in now. In addition, and much unlike her teammates she wore relatively little, a tank top which was usually stained by something she got up to during the day and would constantly reveal a small portion of her bra, either a loose strap or her top couldn't quite stretch far enough. She had smaller breasts than Hinata but because of the tighter fitting clothes they were more prominent. On Hinata's sisters team was Hanabi, her sister, Leann, and Tenten. Hanabi was one of the more serious members of her community. The lessons from the capital were taken to heart and she would uphold every rule under the sun. Her 'prim and proper' demeanour was matched by her neat white kimono, jet black hair, matched by the sash around her waist and eyes identical to Hinata. Only where Hinata caved in and withdrew herself from the community. Hanabi turned the same discrimination of his eyes into fierce determination. Taking her gift with an air of superiority. A 'she was different therefore better' mentality. A philosophy of which Hinata never shared. Leann was by far the most energetic woman Hinata knew. Wore tight green jumpsuit that allowed her for speedy movement, although Hinata half expected her to put on a tutu and complete the appearance. Leann was often the member of the team that actually was excited to do something physical. Usually with Hanabi at the reins. Leann was the only other girl with shorter hair as she complained if it was any longer it would get in her eyes. Tenten constantly felt like she was embarrassed by her team. Leann was often loud and obnoxious often dragging them into trouble and Hanabi was often anal enough to follow him and try to boss people about, usually being just as obnoxious. This left Tenten to be the mediator between these two and reality. Tenten was also dressing a formal white Kinono just like Hanabi and had her hair tied up into two tight buns. If allowed to flow free he would look just like Hanabi only without the pale eyes. She would have been just as nice to Hinata as Chiho or Kanna had her two teammates not keep her constantly occupied.

Hinata could guess why they were waiting for her. Hanabi recently clued in that she was venturing into the wilderness and collecting some valuable items. Hanabi usually bullied with her status towards the elders of the village. She must have 'persuaded' her teammates into telling her which entrance Hinata had left earlier that day. Hinata could only sigh and mentally prepare herself for Hanabi.

"Good evening dear sister." Hanabi greeted first, if it wasn't for her fecade of neutrality worn by only the most well-behaved women in the community she would have been sneering.

"N-Hanabi, h-how did you f-find me?" Hinata stuttered, she looked away, clearly already uncomfortable standing under her sisters' gaze of authority.

"Under normal circumstances I would be forced to tell the elders you were leaving the village without permission." Hinata looked down at her bundle of wood that was clearly man made planks. "But seeing as you've got something of worth I guess I could overlook you breaking the rules."

"B-but isn't the b-blackmail?"

"Think of it as sisters helping each other out, and I bet you have found some edible berries in that basket of yours. We haven't found anything all day."

"Hanabi just leave her alone we have found enough for a meal." Tenten piped up.

"But we might get something actually tasty for once, or maybe something to help me catch the elders attention. Besides I know that _she_ would prefer her freedom." Hanabi had always felt that people were stuck in their fate. Only he saw himself to be on top while Hinata was fated to be the lesser of the two sisters as she was the less perfect of the two.

"She is a bit weird but nothing to deserve…."

"I-I'll pay you…" Hinata interrupted. If she was found out she knew the elders would keep her inside the village or worse yet…. Re-educate her by sending her away to the capital.

"Excellent, at least you still have your wits from venturing out so far." Hanabi subtlety reminded her that there was a current populistic theme that the wilderness sapped away your intelligence as well as your ability to be civilized something which seriously put most people off from venturing further than necessary. Of course, this lead to more flak for Hinata. She carefully lay down her firewood and pulled herself out of the straps that held the basket and handed it over to Hanabi. She did not even glance at the content and just emptied it out into his own basket and made it look like he collected the berries and mushrooms for himself.

"Hanabi, this is surely unyouthful of you!" Leann called out in a louder-than-necessary voice.

"I think it's more 'unyouthful' about breaking the elders' rules." Hanabi retorted and Leann thought to herself for a moment.

"I can see what you mean. In that case. Hinata! I thoroughly advise you to not break such rules again. You can't let your youth shine through if you end up hurt. Might I suggest accompanying me at doing some chorus tomorrow?"

Hinata simply shook her head and nervously took a step away as if she was wanting to run. Fortunately, Chiho was able to pick up on her behaviour. After all, she felt the same way.

"Might I suggest we head back to the village now? It is getting dark after all." Her voice was smooth and low. She rarely spoke but she always had a tone of conviction like what she said was fact and nothing less. Hanabi turned and gazed into Chiho's dark glasses with a blank expression. It appeared as if they were having a contest to see who was the least emotional of the pair. After a few seconds, they turned from each other. Hinata's team walked away to the right while her sister and her team walked to the left. She glanced both ways before picking up her wood and followed Chiho and Kanna.

"Damn what's her problem?" Kanna asked once they were out of ear shot. As her ruck sack began to move on its own accord. A small white puppy's head soon poked out of the opening and gave a small yip to announce his freedom. "Yeah sorry Akamaru, you know she hates dogs." Akamaru was a large part of why Kanna liked Hinata, because Akamaru also liked the white eyed girl. In turn Hinata was always kind to the small creature who sought refuge one stormy night a year ago. Officially the dog was not allowed into the village so the trio worked together to keep him a secret. One that only Kanna's trusted friends know about. Although the rumours were starting to pile against the dog lover.

"She believes she is entitled." Chiho responded. She was looking elsewhere at this moment but her attire made all but the most obvious movements unreadable.

"I-I am s-so sorry that I lost the f-food." Hinata squeaked a little. To Akamaru who was looking directly at her from behind Kanna saw she was feeling down and jumped out to her arms. Hinata let out a surprised gasp as the wood she was carrying now had additional weight to it. Akamaru was being less than useful as now Hinata couldn't see where she was going and promptly tripped on a stone. She ended up throwing the bundle of planks in front of where she was and landed on the broken road with an 'eep' and a heavy thump. Akamaru simply gracefully jumped away at the last moment but quickly assumed position by Hinata's face and sniffed at her.

"Akamaru, was that necessary? Hinata are you alright?" Kanna was holding back a giggle but she managed to swallow it and bend down to start picking up the planks that Hinata had dropped. Hinata nodded and allowed Akamaru to lick her face briefly as if he was saying sorry to her. She got up and dusted herself down before giving a smile.

"I'm fine t-thanks."

"We will help carry the wood don't worry." Kanna gave a warming smile.

The day's end was fast approaching now but the trio of women decided to play with Akamaru for a short time. Hinata needed to unwind before they returned after losing half of their findings to her sister. Upon reaching the walls of their village Akamaru dutifully hit himself into Kanna bag. Being well accustomed to how terrifying other women where here. The gateway into Konoha was less impressive than the one into old Konohagakure being made of wooden steaks reaching to around the height of an average person. Two watch towers flanked the entrance, not really extending much higher than the palisade. There were only two women guarding the entrance. One lazily hung over the rail of the watch tower and she had a bandaged nose and held a long spear in on hand. The said spear dangled just above the ground and threatened to fall from her grasp. She hardly acknowledged the trio of women now approaching. On the other hand, her partner who was below her was quickly flicking through paperwork before being ready to sign in Hinata's team. She looked somewhat livelier if only just and had her hair over one eye. She kept it together under a hat. Aside from their facial appearances the two had almost identical uniform. A short Kimono with an additional thick jacket which was supposedly stab proof but no one had bothered to test such a theory. The Kimono was a dark grey while the jacket provided a dark green colour to their attire. In the height of summer Hinata would often hear how uncomfortable the uniform became but now autumn has settled in at least the mornings provided the coolness they had been yearning for.

Past the gates housed the village. Many of the buildings being a muddle of tinkering and 'cheap' repairs. No one in the village had full carpentry skills or masonry skills. Often with the notion of 'good enough' when it came to construction. As a result, many buildings had ended up cramped. Leaked in the rain and grew smoky when a fire was lit for warmth. The wood was gnarled, the stonework never quite fitted together. The pointing was crumby, nails bent, tiles loose. In short it looked like there were too many chefs on the design and no one could agree on one idea. The village was so small that in a minute Hinata and her team found herself in the centre. A comparatively wide-open space with a large red-walled building looming over them. By far this building was the tallest and stretched out to four stories high. This was where the elders controlled the colony with a tight fist. They were by far the strictest women in the village and would constantly terrorise the younger generation with tales of creatures so vile and violent that they will do worse things than simply kill you. Even Hinata shuddered at the thought of what these creatures were. It was by far the least desirable subject to talk about but Hinata has heard of many stories where they were responsible for destroying the old world. The tower was far from its original glory but had the most time spent repairing it. The large gash that had destroyed its side had carefully cut timber to cover the gaping hole and sealing it from the outside elements. For many years the building itself was the entire colony but they had since then spread into the small village Hinata was standing in. Of course, calling the building red-like was not entirely true. Few parts were red granted but there was clear evidence of a raging fire that has burnt the very stone around every window and doorway. Windows were boarded up and the only glass left was on the top floor where they were carefully replaced for the elders to enjoy some comfort. Hinata was knocked almost to her feat.

"Watch where you're going ugly!" Came a disgruntled voice. With wild red hair flowing past Hinata's vision It was long and impressive and matched her temper to a T. Kurama seemingly walked through her and carried on to wherever she was heading. Hinata heard a 'tch' from Kurama team mater. Sasuki, he looked and acted a lot like Hanabi only where Hanabi is willing to give some rope to Hinata, Sasuki was always in a mood with everyone. She felt that Hinata did not even deserve her abilities, hell, probably not even her life. Sasuki was greedy, selfish, and would easily trample on anyone that was in her way.

Hinata sighed heavily. She knew her luck was running out for today. "We've already got our food rations, want to just go home?" Kanna asked, also not wanting to be near those two any longer than necessary. Where Sasuki lusted for power, Kurama just wanted to watch the world burn. For now, she stood by the gothic girl as their two plans coincided.

This left the third member of their team. Right on que Hinata was pushed again but this time by a pinkette. She gave out a smirk but the whole event appeared to be a copy of what her teammates did. Sakura was a leacher at best. Following the other two in hopes that she could become popular. Her actions were devoid of creativity or initiative but that still meant hating on Hinata, who was considered the least popular. Her distaste for Hinata was completely unjustified but nonetheless was still apparent. She would have said some remark but she had to catch up to her team who seemed to never really notice her. Hinata decided to walk the other way, seeing as now they only had firewood she did not need to see the elders of the village.


	2. Chapter II

**I was not sure how popular I would be but here is the next chapter. I kinda don't have anything to rant about so yeah, enjoy reading. Feel free to message me alternative names and maybe story arc that you would like to see. I have thought of quite a few but I wanna also know about what people want.**

 **I originally had Kurenai as the sensei of team eight, but it did not sit right with me. I hope you can see why and agree with me on this one. She would have been too nice for the plot.**

 **Second edition notes:  
Corrected names.**

Chiho, Kanna and Hinata carfully approached their house. It was down a tight alleyway as bunching buildings together made them more secure and less likely to fall apart. As soon as they entered the one-person-wide avenue to a small courtyard with a well in. The place was largely tidy with rubble stacked off to one corner in case it was useful for something in the future. They opened a door make of nailed planks which seemingly worked well to keep the outside out and they entered their home. The house was divided into two rooms. The first being the largest of the two had curtains partitioning off corners for each girl in the team. The middle of the room had an old wooden table which was kept as clean as they could. Directly opposite was a fireplace that was now cold as none of them had been in all day to maintain it. It was made out of a simple brick design and the flue and had storage for wood to be used as fuel. To the right was a large cupboard that contained various utensils and equipment for all the girls on the team. Last of all, to the left was the doorway to the bathroom. Albeit very basic bucket of water for a shower and a deep pit for a toilet. The building was cool despite a whole day in the sun. The one forgiving factor inside the building was the poor insolation. Granted it was horrific in the winter but during the summer it was possible to avoid the heat by staying indoors. Not that it was very productive to the community. Hinata was curious to where their teacher was as she was clearly not inside. Mizuki often claimed that she had nothing to do with them and so usually never accompanied the trio. Despite it was what she was meant to do.

Mizuki had finally entered after everyone got themselves comfortable and ready to prepare dinner. Usually she wore the face of mild annoyance if she had to be here. Typically finding somewhere else to stay on most nights. She still wore the standard Kimono uniform customary of anyone who held rank. The woman had long silver hair that was almost as clear and clean as Hinata's eyes but was largely covered in a dark green beanie hat. However, it was clear she mattered to herself as Hinata doubted she had ever saw her do anything productive aside from talk to other women her age. And 'forget' she had a team. Mizuki was also one of the few to carry a rifle on her back. As curtesy of the capital city as she somehow managed to persuade the elders that she was suitable to police the village as well as teach.

"Is everyone here? good." Mizuki leaned against the door frame, she had no intension to remain here. "I am going to be frank here. Hinata, you've been accused of distracting teams from their duties." She spoke plainly as if the news was to no surprise.

"What!?" Kanna was the first to call out. She was by far the most vocal of the group after all. Hinata immediately slumped in her chair. Dread now sunk in her heard like a heavy anchor.

"Someone apparently saw two teams waiting on her at the main entrance to old Konoha or something. Either way they weren't doing anything and Hinata was not there.

"That's not possible, she was with us the whole time." Chiho lied on Hinata behalf but her voice made it sound convincing. "Yes, we were at the main gates but only for a minute." Her voice level and calm.

"That's just not fair! Don't we get a chance to explain ourselves?" Kanna asked.

"Honestly, I don't care. Hinata it has been decided that you're to leave my team and remain solo. This isn't the first time I had to sit through a council meeting for you."

"What! That's fucked up! She didn't do anything!" Kanna slammed her fist down on the table. "Why do people do this! It's disgusting."

"I believe people are using Hinata as an escape goat to pass on their blame and bad luck." Chiho explained.

"Not helping Chiho."

"It's the only remotely logic-"

"-It's fine! I-I understand…" Hinata interrupted. Tears in her eyes but she looked up and gave everyone a short smile. She swallowed down the sadness. It took several attempts but eventually she broke down and covered her face in her hands. "W-w-why m-me?" She muttered. The room was silent apart from her quiet sobs and the occasional creak of the timber. Mizuki just muttered a 'tch' before turning to leave the girls. She paused and looked like she was trying to remember something.

"We will always be here to support you." Chiho comforted.

"Yeah! Just because you're not gonna' be with us all the time doesn't mean we can't see you. Right Chiho?"

"Right."

"T-thank you everyone. W-when am I supposed to m-move out?"

"Ah, tomorrow." She now seemed satisfied by doing everything that was asked of her and not a thing more.

The four ate their meal in silence. It was nothing extravagant seeing as Hinata lost her found food to her sister. She did not want to talk. In fact, she was feeling numb, surprisingly enough she decided that numb was a better alternative to other emotions. She was first to retire into her corner of the room and lay on her bed just staring up at the roof. The light from the crackling fire was creating dancing shadows that she allowed herself to be distracted by.

"S-Chiho?" She softly called out. Not moving from her position.

"Hmn, yeah?"

"You said I was an escape goat? What made you say that?"

"I read somewhere that in close knit communities, people find it easier to cope if they can blame their problems on someone else."

"Why is it me?"

"Remember when you first came here?"

"M.. mhm?"

"You used to be really determined and acted as if nothing could get in your way."

"Did I?"

"Well, certainly more than myself. But people picked up on that and set you out as an outsider, someone different."

"They expected too much from you. You didn't do anything Hinata." Kanna added.

"Kanna is right, for once-"

"-Hey!"

"Do not blame yourself. We will be there for you."

"Thank you, m-means a lot."

The next day seemed to blur to Hinata. Mizuki got the location of her new home and lead her so she knew where it was. Although, it took longer than it should to find their sensei, even with all three searching the village. The white-eyed girl was cuddling into a basket containing a couple books, blankets and tools that she owned. Some objects to make her life somewhat more liveable. As she passed she could hear many women whispering about things she did not do. As a result, Hinata was not paying attention to where she was going. Next thing she knew she was outside the village itself. Albeit not far from the fence but still not even within their community. She never spoke just quietly nodded while one of the elders, Biwako was trying in vain to comfort the depressed girl. She missed everything she said. Biwako was supposedly the leader of the elders but judging by the situation and the amount of regret in her voice it was doubtful she had full control over the elders. If Hinata was listening she would have known that Biwako tried everything they could but in the end, it was down to the vote. Although they managed to dissuade total banishment as it was extreme even if Hinata's supposed delinquency was true. The whole situation was unfair but Chiho managed to describe it so well. Hinata's role in the community was to be the escape goat of all its problems. It was easier to say it was Hinata's fault less and less food was found, that some important task was left undone, that something goes wrong or someone does a mistake. Hinata was blamed, she was the shy girl and now she was alone. Kanna gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as she asked to be left alone for now. Her two friends understood.

Her new home was cold, damp and creaking. The wind had picked up and rattled the glass in the small window that allowed natural light to escape. This house was not cosy. To her left was a cast iron oven with enough space to fuel with wood and cook on a hotplate above the cavity. Her bed was to the right and that was it. Life in the ruins of old Konoha was far from idealistic but this was poverty by their own standards. Another groan from the timber and a cool breath of air seeped into the building and sent a chill down Hinata's spine. Stuck, in a situation she knew she couldn't pull herself from. Doubt filled her thoughts as he forced herself to sit on the bed. It was comfortable enough but the mattress was an old one and she could feel lumps where she sat. The lonely girl took in a deep breath, closed her eyes and cleared her mind as best as she could. Her sister wouldn't be helpful she thought that Hinata was stuck in her situation and it was fruitless to even attempt to change it. Kurama and Sasuki were willing to stamp her out of the way. While many others such as Sakura and Ino were just following the crowed. Cho and Shigeko both just ignored her, like she never existed in their radar. That left her teammates and teacher, or, as she knew now, her ex-teammates. She wanted to scream and she wanted to cry. Punch something or run as fast and as far as she could but right now her better judgement forced her into silence. She bit her lip in thought, her attempts to clear her mind only resulted in a new wave of thoughts and it gave her a headache.

"What if… I… Stayed out…" She thought out loud. What initially felt like a choppy sea with waves of thoughts crashing this was and that eventually collated into one coherent flow. The shy girl knew she was not welcome anymore but that was because she was doing something she was not fond of. What Hinata enjoyed doing was exploring the wilds. Free from people who separated her out. The bluenette regretted her next thought but nevertheless it was just as valid. She did not have a team who had to wait on her to return, no way to track her down this time.

Next time she opened her eyes; the snow-like pupils finally shone and were clear of tears. She still felt like the world was crashing around her but at least it was not hopeless. In a way, she was able to escape because so few cared about her. Hinata carefully pulled out a folded piece of paper and unravelled the sheet to reveal her map. She glanced over and over it and made a scheme. She was going back to the mill and then see how much further she dared to go. Jumping off her bed, she quickly pulled out various blankets from her basket and then chose her largest one to re-stuff into the wicker container. In addition, she stored two pots good enough for cooking and one packet containing dried porridge she only needed enough for one night. She made sure her knife was secure on her flank and she finally strapped the basket to her back. With the remains of her things she stuffed under her mattress so it had appeared there was nothing of value inside.

Exiting the small building she stood in the street and looked around. The sun kept hiding behind clouds at regular intervals as a brisk breeze blew past her hair. Making it briefly billow in the wind and relax in a neat hold down to her shoulders. Hinata turned away from Konoha and set down the road. The street was lined by old buildings made of wood and stone but all were a far cry from their former glory. She could just hear whispers over the wind asking if 'that's the one who got kicked out of her team.' Quickly hushed as she passed one particular window, it was obvious where they were hiding and Hinata could feel her stares. Her shoulders slumped as she felt the pressure build and her nerves spiked. It gave her the appearance of defeat but only Hinata knew that she was taking advantage of a new opportunity. She agreed with herself that this was what she wanted to do since she could remember. Walking a familiar path towards the ancient gates of old Konoha. She could feel her nerves build up as the white-eyed girl approached the threshold. Knowing that she what she was doing but still had to swallow anxiety. She reached the gate and stopped under the archway. Sighing heavily, she looked over her shoulder and a revelation that surprised her. She looked back in anger, something she was not used to. For years she blamed herself but instead in the briefest moment she chose to hate the people who whispered. Always whispering and never telling it to her face. It was cowardly. It had no honour. It was not civilised and it was not what she was led to believe during her childhood inside the capital city. She turned to leave, Hinata knew she would have to return to this place but not before she had her fill of the wilderness.

Hinata traced her steps from the day before. It only took her half an hour to reach the old water mill. This time she was able to have a better search around it. Everything was just as it she had left it, as if the place was frozen in time and slowly becoming forgotten. There was a door that curiously enough Hinata had not opened to explore yet. The door presumably lead to a small storage space as the building could not have been that much bigger. A good eye would have noticed that the damage done to the wood was not natural, suggesting a blade or weapon had caused it. However, Hinata only saw where the wood appeared to have degraded faster than the rest, she did not know any different. She tried the door handle but the door did not budge, with nothing better to do the girl threw herself at the door. The wood being weaker than she expected she burst through the door and landed on now a pile of damp splinters. Her hands and knees stung as she picked herself up she was breathing heavily to recover with the shock of jumping straight through the door. Her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the murky darkness of the small room.

A gasp escaped her lips as she saw two skeletons on opposite sides of the room. While their flesh had long since decomposed to nothing but bone, some parts of their attire remained. To the body on the right, it had a sword pinning the green flak jacket by where the heart would be to the wall behind. While most of the bones had collapsed into a heap some of the ribs and the skull was balancing on the jacket. The rest of that person's clothes were heavily moth bitten but what was left undisturbed appeared to be a kimono although the colour had long since fades to an earth-like brown. The other body which was to Hinata's left was also wearing a green flak jacket but he looked more like he sat himself by the wall to wait out his last moments. His jacket had three clear holes and spread around him were three kunai blades, each with a ring for a pummel and the metal had begun to rust one the blades' edge. The scene looked like both of the dead people here managed to strike a fatal blow to each other. Hinata slowly picked herself and still in front of the slouching body on the left. She pictured whoever that _Woman_ was must have died somewhat peacefully as the bones looked like person had fallen asleep but never awoke. Her curiosity took over and she stood over the skeleton. She was thinking what brought these two to kill each other but just ask she leaned in for a closer look the left arm, or the bones of the left arm slide off the flak jacket and fell into a heap on the floor. In the hand was a small scroll with some rough writing. With a shaking hand, she picked up the small scroll and tried to see the writing in a better light. The message simply said, 'mission failed, sorry.' Where these the last words of this person? Looking around to see what else was in the room, she could see what was left of a camp site. Food long gone but some of the more durable material was left. Ashes of a small camp fire looked like they were kicked in a hurry, probably by one of the people here. One of their boots, in same one Hinata stood over had the same ash still on the leather. The boots were still good but Hinata surmised her feet were not big enough to wear them.

She felt odd wanting to use things that obviously belonged to one or the other people here. If the jackets were repaired she could make some decent protective clothing from them. The boots were still good as well. Few pots and pans and several sharp blades. Her self-taught survival instincts were obviously kicking in an overwhelming her respect for the dead. The room was intact, provided good shelter and as long as she did not mind spending a night with two skeletons then here would be a good first night away. She could travel further this way and Hinata was not a million miles away from safety if she needed it. Setting down her basket she began to search everything in more detail, spending the better half of the day organising what she had just found. Aside from the campsite and what the two people had on them Hinata couldn't find much else of use. Just as the dusk settled she had begun to dig two shallow graves for the skeletons so they could rest finally. She was using the flat of her blade which would blunt the edge but Hinata knew she could always re-sharpen it if she had nothing else to do. By the time she had dug large enough graves, she was straining too hard to see and so thought it was a good idea to retire for the night.

The girl had been working so hard she had not noticed the setting sun. She had been planning on debating whether or not to go back. Her more erratic emotions had subsided and she was thinking more rationally. She thought about her friends and how they'd react to her missing. Would they assume she'd abandon the village? Or something had happened to her? Regardless it was much too dark to go anywhere in the forest. Not only because of the rough and unknown ground but now she was at a disadvantage with her sight, despite her ability to see the life force of creatures around her. In addition, the wind had still picked up and made listening to all the noises in the night nigh on impossible. Her safest bet would be to camp in the water-mill. She could block up the entrance and have a reasonable level of safety. Wiping her brow with soiled hands, she knew her body was long overdue a wash in some nearby hot springs. The hot springs were very popular because it was the only place to get hot water. The alternatives would be cold water from a bucket or lightly heated over a fire. Those options had the advantage to be done alone and in the private of their own home. Hinata slowly stood and stretched up, in her hast to finish the graves before darkness came she had been crouched down in the same position for the better part of two hours, or so it felt like two hours, she honestly had no way of knowing. Taking each step slowly and carefully now as she could hardly see what she was standing on it all looked the same murky black in the diminishing light. The room in which she decided to sleep in was even darker. Hinata relied solely on memory and feeling around, it took a while but she had found her old lighter and flicked it open. Her face was suddenly illuminated in the dancing flame. Her eyes reflected the light almost perfectly. Her pale colour acting like a mirror but her face remined stoic as she cupped the light in her hands and lowered the flame into a small ball of kindling, a piece of dry cloth from one of the bodies. It caught fire and Hinata was able to quickly pile on some sticks she had collected earlier. Already adopting the new pots, she had found she filled it with a pouch of oatmeal and burnt the wrapper. The new cooking utensils were much lighter and more rust resistant than Hinata had expected, in addition they also stacked better and allowed Hinata some more free space which she was grateful for as her old pots were very cumbersome to carry for long periods of time.

Now that the room was flickering with the small fire. Hinata wrapped herself up in her blanket and leaned against the wall. Listening carefully to the wind outside, very few breaths touched the room she was in but occasionally the fire would lash out in a random direction as if it was striking its pray. The doorway was blocked off by her second blanket meaning she doubted anyone would see her from the outside. Total isolation, she gulped, glad she had moved the bodies. If they were still here she would probably start believing they were staring at her with their lifeless gaze. As she curled up to her hot meal and slowly started to eat by herself. Softly whispering her grace as her spoon dipped into the porridge. Her memories were left to their own devices and as she finished her meal and settled down to sleep. As she closed her eyes, one memory in particular came to mind.

Remembering back to her years spent in the capital city. Vastly different to her experience outside the epic walls which protected said city. Inside she could remember sitting by the window of their school tower. A building reaching ten stories high and surrounded the many houses down below. Here were many comforts that outside the city never offered, electricity, hot water on demand, abundant food and new clothes were but a few luxuries she had in her early life. Hinata was overlooking the formal gardens and flower arrangements that had bordered the plaza by her school. The timid girl, as well as all her classmates all wore the standard uniform of a white and red blouse coupled with. There was a lecture on that Hinata was listening intently to despite staring out of the window. Since she had joined various teachers would try and catch her out but over time they realised she was still aware of the class going on around her. The room itself was very typical of a classroom, nothing out of the ordinary. Blackboard to the front behind the teachers' desk, chairs out in front organised into a grid and filled by her peers. Behind Hinata was where the books and anything else needed to teach young students everything they needed to be highly educated. The girls did move around according to subject; mathematics would be in one room, English in another room and so on. In this particular room, they learned about history. Once a week they congregated in this room to learn about life in the old world. Concentrating heavily from the woman's perspective naturally while making males appear as a separate species.

It intrigued Hinata why she was remembering this particular lesson. It was about the war that ended life as it was and transformed it to life as they know now. There was a group of women who leaded the charge against all male kind. Tired of the oppression and aggression towards women they decided to try and separate into a woman only society. Naturally such a movement did not end peacefully, the men were portrayed as greedy and would not allow the formation of a new centre of power. The teacher describing them as afraid that the women in the new society would perform a better job of building the perfect society that knows only peace. One night a band of men thought they could overpower the new village and proceeded to pillage and rape all women inside. One girl escaped, watched as many sacrificed themselves to protect her. That girl grew to be Orchimaru who took it personally to seek revenge. Revenge that fuelled a frenzy of research into new and powerful jutsu and even joined the Akatsuki, known for their hatred in men. Hinata knew about jutsu and chakra but it is now considered very rare and she did not know anyone who could perform it to the ability told in the history lessons.

One impactful discovery that Orochimaru had made was a gender specific disease. A disease that originated from a jutsu designed to kill specifically men. In short, it had worked. The disease grew to be so effective and infectious that in no time at all eighty percent of men were infected with a near perfect lethality rating. Panic ensued and although the fault could solely be blamed on one vengeful action, the female gender was blamed and attacked for it. All-out war within the five nations followed. Not with each other but with themselves as fear spread like wildfire. Small factions emerged and almost immediately fell, people were dying in the streets and many people were orphaned. The world that Hinata inhabited was the eventuality of Orochimaru's revenge. She had never seen a man before and from what she was told they were the monsters that destroyed the world. The instigator of the fires that burnt city after city and their power, strength, wealth and greed meant nothing now.

The hour was up and Hinata would not find out how the capital city was formed until next week. But for now she was wondering what kind of people would they have been to push this woman called Orochimaru to such extremes? She could only guess. Her thoughts were now back onto the two skeletons that she had found. Were they people from the old world who had to live through wars and terror? The shy girl hoped not, it was a something that only the cruellest could wish on others and Hinata was anything but cruel. Ironic that the kindest would have been shunned just as much as the cruellest. No one heard from Orochimaru since she unleashed the disease into the world, rumours were all that was truly known about the mysterious woman. As Hinata remembered, the last line of that lecture was at least that was what the legend was about, the actual events were never documented at the time but the results are certainly observable'. It only took around one-hundred years before no one could recall exactly what brought the world down.


	3. Chapter III

**Another addition to my second story. my first story has just reached the end of act II so I may concentrate slightly more on this one for the time being. Although no promises. It is nice to see by the frequent follow that people seem to enjoy the idea as much as I am.**

 **Please continue to show your support through follow favourites and reviews, I wanna know if what I am doing is right or if I had missed anything.**

 **Second edition notes:  
Changed names.**

Slowly opening her eyes, Hinata discovered she must have slept until morning. Through what gaps through her make-shift door she could see rays of early morning light penetrate through the smoky room. Her fire had long since gone out but the lack of ventilation had left the air thick and difficult to breathe. If Hinata was new to this then the smoke would also be stinging her eyes and nose as well as drying her throat out until it felt like it would crack into pieces. She should have been excited, being so far out of her village had given her a head start to explore further into the wilderness. After all that is why she enjoyed coming out to here. The feeling was a mix of both wrong and right but certainly exciting. Were it not for finishing the task of burying the skeletons she would have set out immediately in a direction away from the epic walls of old Konoha. She knelt by the graves and slowly lowered the remains bone by bone. Carefully positioning them so they weren't too far off their original position. No amount of anatomy lessons would have prepared her for the serial experience for she knew these were once people. They had names, lives, and dreams, and Hinata would reflect on her own life as she placed each bone. She knew she did not want to just be forgotten like these two people, but what could she do? She was a nobody, one who would continue to do the same mundane task of collecting resources day in and day out. If she was lucky enough to live until she herself became a 'teacher' to others, would she just regurgitate the same useless information she was taught? She knew of people from her village who had died, well not personally, but stories retold about how some died suddenly and violently while others died after a long struggle, suffering until their last.

There, she had finished. Placed the final bone into the graves and had already started pushing the dark earth over their bodies. The girl knew she couldn't leave them and felt she had done something right. At least they were laid to rest and were remembered once more, which made the young girl smile in comfort. She allowed herself a small break, she was nothing like Lee or Gai, her sister's sensei who took physical endurance to a whole new level. Hanabi would tell her that the two look like carbon copies and her only consolidation is the fact Lee would try to outcompete with Gai and leave her and Tenten alone. who could probably keep it up all day and then some. Hinata stood up after catching her breath and looked around the watermill. She noticed a path leading away into the forest. Well, by path, she saw where the trees had not grown yet and it appeared to be clear enough. Her boot would occasionally kick up gravel instead of dirt and it told her that the route was intended rather than nature and its seemingly random creations.

Getting lost was one fear shared by the village. The forest in the wildlands were confusing to navigate at best. Trees quickly appeared to blend into one another and all the twists and turns you had to make while traversing it made walking feel like a maze. Rarely but certainly possible; someone would go missing for good and all trace would be lost to the world. Even if a search party was sent it would usually turn out fruitless. Swallowed by the forest, may as well be erased from reality. Hinata had developed some rules for her to follow and for now, they worked to her advantage. She would pass a tree with flat bark on and carefully carve a 'H' into the tree. Some people would simply strike the bark but Hinata was concerned doing so would make far too much noise and attract unwanted attention or be easily missed as nature could recreate a gash far more easily then the 'H' shape of her initial. The way she did it only took seconds as she pushed the blade thrice-fold into the wooden flesh. Then she would continue on with her journey until she passed another tree, making sure she could still see the previous mark. Once the bark was scarred Hinata, with some confidence, retrace her steps and avoid a grizzly fate.

As the shy girl walked on for what felt like an hour or so. Passing many curiosities such as demolished buildings, foundations and seemingly random poles made of wood but coated in a thick moss. She had to navigate around patches of nettles where the forest was lighter and avoid tripping on brambles hidden in the grass. Because of Autumn fast approaching the leaves on the trees slowly started to show their vivid burned colours. However, this was not the rule as the weather had been fairly mild this summer and many of the trees still kept their fresh and vibrant green. Pioneering into the unknown she came across a wall. It felt like the forest opened out for her to reveal such a treasure. The trees were a lot thinner here and she found herself in numerous grassy clearings with tall grass reaching to her hips. The wall stretched out to her left and to her right but neither direction hit the horizon. The stonework itself were coated in thick moss. Every so often the moss would break and reveal the light grey stone underneath. This was typically towards the top of the wall but occasionally would be entire sections. The wall looked like it was kept under repair, on the freshest parts there were still chipped stone visible and scattered in front of said wall. Hinata was curious to say the least normally even the still standing ruins had a uniform texture of decay and overgrowth. She walked up to the wall and touched the stonework. The rock felt a little chalky to the touch as she examined her fingers. The wall seemed sturdy enough to take her weight and several holes made it easy for Hinata to place her feet and hands. She heaved herself towards to top and managed to get a leg over the top. To say this was an elegant procedure, would be a lie. Hinata hugged the top of the wall and edged herself inch by inch until her twitching foot could find a holding on the other side. Her face was red from effort but soon enough she was on the other side and patting herself down. She turned slowly to see where she was.

The garden could only be described as Eden. In front of the white-eyed girl were several plots of plants and each were heavy with crop. She could see carrots, potatoes, peas, cabbages, wheat, beans and so much more. Fruit bushes and trees lined the garden, berries all visible through red purple and even some yellow fruit. She could hear clucking off to one end of the garden. It was not a huge space but certainly a much-loved space that clearly provided in abundance. Once she got used to the sheer amount of food present she noticed the farm was divided mainly into four sections and organised by types of crops growing in each specific plot. A well stood in the middle, a picturesque one made of a stone ring and covered by a small wooden roof. Even complete with a bucket lazily resting on the well's wall. The paths were kept clean and there was hardly a single weed in any of the vegetable or fruit beds. Some soil was exposed and other soils were covered in bark or straw, mainly the fruit though had this treatment. To her right was the house to the farm. She was looking inside of a small 'L' shaped building where the main part was a small single storied stone cottage which couldn't be longer than two rooms or a generous large room. The extension was a sheltered workplace, and from what Hinata could just see the space in the corner in between was some sort of storage. Chopped logs were visible from the open door. On the side where Hinata was standing but opposite the open workshop was the side of a large clay coloured dome with smoke lazily puffing out of a chimney. She had no idea who lived here but it was certainly more organised than her entire village. Slowly walking towards the house, she could see many tasks were left unfinished, either by intention or by accident. There were a few lines of newly shaped tiles resting on the floor. A tool which looked infinitely more useful than a knife. The coppery metal of the tool was formed at the head with a wedge shape with the carved wooden handle extending out at a right angle. currently the axe was resting with the blade biting into a large wooden stump. The stump looked old and scarred with countless cuts and strikes it had suffered throughout its use. Hinata was never taught what this tool was as she was only limited to small crafting tools, such as chisels and saws and her knife. All of which we still present inside the workshop.

Hinata looked around in wonder, she could smell the wood burning from the clay furnace as she approached the small cottage. Wanting to know who lived here and ask her many questions. Questions like who, how or why could someone survive here. Getting closer to the workshop, Hinata could see a whole range of tools and projects. On one bench held several straight and carved sticks which were held upright by a ball of clay. On the top of each stick were three carefully split brown feathers with red tips which were attached on by some sort of glue and a small ring of binding. There was also a dirty and rough-looking coppery blade without a handle. The tang was still exposed and the edges still had much of the flash left on from the moulding process but by the small hand-held drill laying next to it suggested that whoever was creating the new blade had just finished drilling holes into the tang before leaving to do something else. By contrast Hinata's blade was made of steel, she had not created it but instead it was given to her upon arriving. All she knew was how to keep it sharp but this was clearly a creation from scratch. The girl wondered how it would look like when it was finished. Would the copper colour turn to the grey-silver of her own knife or would it look like the axe which was the same colour but more shiny. Hinata mused over this and it highlighted the lack of knowledge for metalwork.

In her amazement, she failed to notice someone approach her. It was until a heavy thump on the ground behind did the girl freeze. A chill flowed down her spine, sudden dread had to be swallowed done as she could feel anger from behind her. No matter how much she wanted to, Hinata couldn't move a single muscle and just stood there like a statue. She felt cold; frozen even. Like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's rude to trespass…" A much lower voice than Hinata was expecting. It sounded horse and unused, crackling a little bit and of course felt like the voice commanded. Stern and resolute as if she had offended the voice already. Although that was half true, she technically was wondering inside the property of whoever owned that voice. After steadying her nerves Hinata finally turned to see who was speaking at her. The moment she looked she gasped and took a step back.

The person in front of her was tall. Far taller than Hinata by almost half foot. Broad shoulders made that person look strong and intimidating. She could see the arms were far thicker and muscular than her own. The face looked stern with piercing sapphire-blue eyes, his brow was low with mild anger and his cheeks had peculiar markings, three whisker like lines on each cheek and Hinata couldn't tell if they were scars or birth marks. His complexion was darkened by days in front of fire or exposed to sunlight and as a result his eyes appeared to glow in his glare. The person wore a self-made fur coat with lacings and stiches obvious to the world. That said, it was far from crude. The colours matched and the stitching was symmetrical to both sides. While his arms laid bare he still wore metal grieves that protected his forearms and partially covered several beaded bracelets. Most were just pieces of string but one was bright orange and carefully crafted, it stood out compared to the others because its bright colour and it attracted Hinata attention for a moment. He did not wear gloves as Hinata noticed he was holding the very base of a second axe. The wedge was pressed against the floor, offering support but also what caused the loud thump that alerted Hinata in the first place. Tied to his belt on his left flank hung a bright orange foxes tail. Complete with a white tuft on the tip. It hung lazily by his side by a sheathed blade around the same size that Hinata carried along with a pouch stuffed with more arrows on his right flank. Looking back up to the face Hinata noticed he carried a second blade on the left chest that was tied on over the top of the fur coat. Last of all he carried a long stringed staff that Hinata would come to know as a bow. It was about the length of half of his body and each tip was capped by more coppery metal although they had started to fade into a darker greenish-brown. To say that whoever was standing in front of Hinata had struck her into silence. Out of fear or out of awe she could not tell.

"Where is the rest of your group?" He spoke again, just as cold and commanding as before.

"Hn.." Hinata couldn't give a straight answer.

"Don't give me that crap, I know you work in groups of three or four so where are the other two?"

Hinata took a step back, were the stories true? Was she going to die? Or worse?

"Tch, leave. And never come back."

"Wha-"

"-I Don't want anything to do with your kind! Leave. Now!" The person lifted his axe and Hinata flinched. However, he just pointed the shaft towards the far side of the garden where a gate could be seen. Hinata took another step back as tears formed in her eyes. She ran, her fight or flight response took the latter and she ran. Probably much faster and further than she ever had to run before. She left the house in the woods and allowed it to be swallowed up by the forest once more. She swore she heard him call after her… 'to never tell anyone about his location'. Her body could not handle the raw anger that person radiated off his body. Jumping past a couple trees and ignoring the stinging sensation as branched scratch and cut her as she zipped past. Her eyes welled up and clouded her vision. She never noticed the particularly resistant branch which she could not simply push aside and it knocked her off course. Subsequently, her foot found a route and she tripped up again. Her body punished her enough and she sobbed uncontrollably for a couple minutes. Curled up into a ball she allowed her emotions to explode once more. What did she do to deserve that person's anger? anyone's anger, why was it always against _her_? Hinata finally took control over her body and sat up. She was dirty and slightly cut on her face and arms, perhaps her leg too but she did not check. She breathed deeply and calmed herself down.

"I should have knocked first." She spoke out loud to herself as she pressed her fore fingers together out of habit. "I shouldn't have just jumped the wall, what was I thinking? Was that what a man looked like? Should I tell someone? I… I don't want him to come after me though…" If she could see herself she would have noticed the tear stains running down her cheeks. "I still have what I found in that mill to bring back though, it means that my trip was not wasted. Shit!" Hinata opened her eyes wide in sudden realisation, and her uncharacteristically coarse language. "Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit!" She stood up and looked around. Trees to all sides. A couple of unhelpful ruined houses which, at this point, were nothing more than a large pile of mosey stone and bricks. She had just ran in a random direction to get far away from the small cottage and garden. She looked up at the sun through the leaves, midday, not helpful as she couldn't tell east from west. She kicked a nearby tree out of frustration and sat back down. Concentrating around her eyes she hoped that she was alone, last thing she need was some wolf approaching her.

The girls' worst fears were apparent. It did not take long for her to notice a wolf-sized entity to enter her sensory vision from behind. At least it appeared to be alone, Hinata swallowed hard as she did not think she could run any further. She slowly reached for her knife that was still tied to her hip. She grabbed the wooden handle hard slowly, but deliberately. If she allowed the creature to know that she knew about the attack it might run off and call for its pack. She tried her past to keep her breathing calm and focused but her nerves were growing inside of her as she could 'see' the wolf stopping from behind her.

It pounced, she waited momentarily but she struck out too soon. The wolf saw her counter and used the tree to launch its' body away from Hinata weapon. She felt the tip connect with the animal and scored a red line of blood along the grey fur, but it would only be minimal damage. She immediately jumped up and held her knife between the wolf and herself. Her hands were shaking but she knew she had to do something. Sitting down or running where not two options and she hoped that the wolf could be killed if it attacked her. It snarled and growled at the girl and could probably smell her fear. Hinata could swear she saw a grin as she noticed two more wolves also coming in from behind. She had ran straight into the pack. A moment's hesitation and the wolf in front was already on top of her. The wolf had charged the girl and knocked her over. She let out a scream and scurried to the safety of a large nearby tree to guard her back. She swiped aimlessly and put off the wolf from striking her momentarily. That was when the over two wolves entered the fray and stood before her, ready to jump. Teeth were showing, growling as heard.

"S-stay b-b-back!" She squeaked. One wolf leaped at her and she closed her eyes and screamed. She expected death. By some miracle the creature had fell on her blade and she impaled the beast right up to her hand. However, the weight pinned her down as she struggled to wriggle out from under it. Hinata opened her eyes once she realised that she had not been killed by the beasts' maw. She opened her eyes to the lifeless stare of the wolf looking directly into her. She immediately noticed a small triangular blade covered in gore and attached to a shaft that protruded out of the skull in between the eyes and just above the muzzle. On the back of said skull continued the shaft that ended into three carefully split feathers, brown but with red tips. Her vision focused on the fight behind the slain beast. She saw the man from before leaped off a fallen tree and had already loaded a second arrow onto his bow. Pulled back he took aim and released into a second wolf. The wolf was wise to the attack and had turned just in time for the arrow to impale the creatures side. The wound could not have been very deep but it certainly enraged the wolf to attack the man. He immediately threw the bow to one side and drew the blade from his hip. He side-stepped the first wolf as was expecting to clamp down on the human's shoulder. The second wolf was also expecting the first wolf to chomp on his flesh and so was not expecting the better-timed swipe that gutted the beast. The first wolf, the one with an arrow sticking out of its side, landed and immediately jumped back onto the man. Hinata watched as the wolfs weight which could have easily flattened her was entirely blocked by the right arm of the person before her. The grieves did not give into the sharp teeth and his feet did not give into the weight. In one fluid motion, he grabbed a third knife that Hinata did not know about on the small of his back. He gripped the cold blade firmly in his left hand and plunged it deep into the wolf's neck. The beast grew limp and the winner of the fight allowed the momentum to carry the carcass onto the floor on top of the gutted wolf.

Next thing Hinata knew was the wolf on top of her was roughly picked up and thrown to one side. She was back under his gaze. His eyes still appeared to glow in the forest's light.

"What the fuck were you thinking running into the forest like that?" He was clearly angry but there was a softer edge to it. As if he was worried. Not that Hinata noticed, she started to tear up again.

"I-i-i-I 'm s-s-s-sorry."

"If I had not heard you scream you would have been dead. Do you understand? Dead!"

"B-b-b-b."

"These forests are dangerous in case you missed that memo from your village. What if bandits found you? Hmm?"

"B-bandits?"

He did not reply but instead he closed he eyes, sighed heavily, and stood up. He looked visibly relaxed. He admitted that people like them were worse than all the beasts in the wilderness but also they never dared to approach the village of females in case they do another 'cleansing' He mentally shuddered at the memory.

"I'm sorry I must've scarred you… I was just as scared I guess…" Hinata hardly heard what he said but she must have keyed in.

"W-w-why d-do you n-not want p-p-people?" Was all Hinata managed.

"Hn. Nothing you need to know." His anger peaked again but quickly subsided, gave Hinata the indication that she should just drop it.

"W-what's y-your name?"

"Naruto, now I am gonna' light a smoke, your team should not be far off so they'll see it, even in the forest. If they have any sense they'll follow it." Hinata sunk a little, she didn't have a team as of late. Naruto pulled the arrow from the wolf he shot on the side. He looked at the tip before wiping it off on the wolfs' fur and returning it to his quiver. He walked up to the wolf he threw off Hinata. He yanked the shaft but the arrow was stuck fast in the skull. He cursed under his breath before snapping the arrowhead off then snapping the feathers off. He threw them into a small pouch he had around his belt. He rummaged around and pulled out a ball of blackened cloth. He unravelled it and produced two small flints. Naruto tore a piece off and rested it on one flint as he used the other to strike. Sparks exploded from the strike and one of them seemed to persist on the black cloth and the embers grew from under Naruto's thumb. He carefully nursed the embers with a few twigs until a small fire was built up. He sighed again and took the ball of cloth and threw it onto the fire. The smoke changed from wispy grey to thick black and it billowed up through the canopy of the forest. The boy stood up and turned to walk away.

"W-wait." Hinata called out but as she stood up, pain flashed through her ankle. She had twisted it when the wold jumped her. Naruto never stopped but instead raise his right arm into the air as if to wave at her. He quickly vanished into the forest just as she heard her name being called by familiar voices.


	4. Chapter IV

**I am sorry guys I buggered up the tags. Thanks to Thalion and Cotton Candy for pointing out that I messed up and I am eternally grateful. So much so I wrote a whole chapter just to say thanks. and hopefully get noticed by the right crowed (I must have really confused some Naruko fans). I was literally about to fall asleep when Cotton Candy alerted me and I had a 'oh shit' moment at about one o clock in the morning.**

 **Hydra Bob: I found the problem, got the wrong tags. but thanks for the love, I hope I don't disappoint in the future.**

 **Lightfuture: Glad I am able to write well enough for you to see it as a movie.**

 **Please continue to show your support. I feel like I am finally doing something right.**

 **Second Edition Notes:  
Changed Names.**

"Hinata? Hinata! Thank god we found you!" Came the familiar face of Kanna and the slightly less recognisable face of Chiho. There was the third member of the new trio but she was looking the other way for now. Before Hinata had the chance to get a better look at the girl, Chiho spoke.

"What the hell happened here? You alright? Are you injured?" Kanna asked in quick sucession.

"Clearly she managed." Chiho answered, stating the obvious as Hinata was sitting with her legs stretch out.

"Mn, I s-sprained my ankle but I'll s-survive." She did look shaken by the attack as she was still gripping onto the knife like her hand was a vice.

"How did you manage to kill all three! That's amazing Hinata I never knew you were so kick ass." Kanna complemented, she looked much more enthusiastic. "Oh here, this is Sai." Kanna remembered to introduce the new comrade. "She is your err…"

"Sorry Hinata, they assigned her as soon as you left. It seemed too convenient." Chiho spoke softly. Sai finally turned after she appeared satisfied over the carnage that Hinata had just escaped. She was pale, very pale, almost to the silvery-white colour of Hinata's eyes, her skin was that pale. She did not have much else going for her save her Kimono was a darker grey than the customary attire there was an obvious cut in the lower half of her dress to allow for significantly easier movement. Her hair was jet black and cut to shoulder length with no other additions, even her chest was pretty much flat as a board. She screamed out the word 'plain'. Even her facial expressions were harder to understand than Chiho who kept her face hidden from view almost all of the time. Although occasionally her eyes would make deliberate movements as she glanced around her surroundings. Sai could have asked Hinata anything in the whole world and she would have accepted her and made a new friend there and then. However, Sai asked something that put her on guard.

"Who were you talking to?"

"t-t-t-talking?" Hinata pressed her forefinger together out of habit, she was still holding her knife though.

"I didn't hear anything?" Kanna unintentionally came to her rescue. Chiho was a lot wiser to Hinata's body language.

"She was just attacked by wolves, what were you expecting?" She shot at Sai but she was seemingly unaware of the social cue to drop it.

"Hm, never mind it must have been you screaming like a coward." Kanna shot her a look this time and Hinata hung her head in shame, she did put herself and Naruto into a dangerous situation after all. However, Sai just smiled, it appeared creepy and fake but the effort was noted. "I was joking."

"Funny." Kanna deadpanned before helping Hinata to her feet, she passed the shy girl to Chiho who helped support her friend. "How are we going to carry all three wolves back?"

"Well Hinata could use a stick to keep her weight off her legs and that will give us three people to carry the wolves." Chiho suggested.

"y-y yeah sorry for being a burden."

"You're not a burden, you've just brought more food than pretty much everyone in a whole month had managed." Kanna reassured.

"Wow you are really lazy over here if this beats the record." Sai 'helpfully' commented.

"I'd like to see you kill three wolves."

"Perhaps next time she attracts them?" Sai shot back. It felt weird with her, she was aggressive but neutral at the same time, merely reflecting the increasingly pissed off Kanna.

"Stop it both of you." Chiho snapped and instantly stamped out the general feeling that Kanna was going to thump Sai something fierce on her head. "Hinata is safe now but we will be slow getting back. Why? Because these wolves are heavy."

Hinata looked away to hide her blush, she thought that Naruto was strong enough to carry all three. Kanna sighed and muttered something to herself before finding a stick large enough for Hinata to lean on. It wasn't difficult as there were in the middle of the forest. Kanna practically tripped over one in the first ten steps of searching.

"Ah here Hinata it seems to be strong enough." He tapped it against the floor. "sorry it's a bit dirty." He handed over the staff to Hinata as she let go of Chiho, allowing her to figure out how to carry her wolf.

"t-t-thank you." She noticed that Sai was momentarily staring in the direction where Naruto walked off, had she seen him? Hinata made a quiet prayer that he would be left unknown as she knew that the elders would not take his existence well. She only had to attend one of their meetings to find out how much they detested males. Not that she doubted they met any but her thoughts settled on their hate as inherited rather than any personal grievances. Hinata did not know what to think or feel. She had never felt so scared in her entire life and her only consolidation was the fact she could pin her fears on the wolves. Her thoughts were well hidden as she mulled over what was she going to do about Naruto. She wanted to thank him for saving her but was also not wanting to know what he'd do if he saw her again. Clearly, he appeared to hate her for some reason, yet not enough to leave her to die. She felt too conflicted on the matter.

"We were worried about you Hinata." Kanna spoke out as they rested for a bit. Turns out dragging heavy animals was hard work through the forest but they were making some progress. "You weren't at your home so we thought you had ran off."

"Hn? N-no I o-only got u-up early." She lied, luckily for her, everyone gave her space to be alone all yesterday and so had no idea she never returned. Because of the sincerity in Kanna's voice she did not want to make them worry any more by telling them that she had intended to run off yesterday. The pain in her ankle reminded her that running away would have spelled out her death. She was lucky insanely lucky and it made her appreciate she still had two people to rely on at least. Although Sai would make it difficult, she had noticed the group lacked a small yip from Akamaru which she was sure would have come out to play by now. They clearly did not trust Sai enough and so she should be careful what she says around them from now on. She accidently let out a heavy sigh, she noticed that Sai had heard and gave her a look.

"Something on your mind?" Kanna asked.

"N-no just shaken t-that's all."

"Hinata why do you stutter?"

"i-I err-"

"-why does it matter?" Chiho interrupted, clearly Sai had been keeping up with these questions all day.

"I guess not, I guess you're just a scaredy-cat."

"Seriously Sai what is your problem?"

"Problem? I am perfectly fine… Oh wait I read about this? You meant to ask if I have a problem with anyone here right? No."

"R-read?" Hinata asked. She did not know anyone who read about social cues.

"That's right, I read books about making friends, one tip said I should keep making light conversation."

"You're doing great…" Kanna said sarcastically but Sai clearly missed what he meant.

"Why thank you Kanna."

"That was sarcasm you idiot. Seriously you've managed to piss everyone off that we know. I'm running if you meet someone like Anko or Kurama." Kanna exploded once more.

Hinata and even Chiho paled. Kanna just pointed out that certain girls would probably never leave Sai alone if she tried anything. It would be destruction, carnage, like another war. Especially if Kurama was right in the middle of it all. With Sasuki probably calling the shots and taking advantage of the destruction to grab more renown for her name. Anko was not as bad but she was certainly more sadistic. She knew how to be passive aggressive towards anyone who had wronged her. Anko had the uncanny ability to make lives a living hell and it was by some miracle that Hinata never managed to somehow wrong her and so was largely left alone. She did know of certain people raising to the challenge and intentionally aggravating Anko only to instantly regret it for months on end. Basically, until she got bored or found herself a new target.

There really wasn't much to say afterwards as they continued to drag in their prizes, well Hinatas prizes as they still thought she killed all three wolves. The team, with Hinata in tow managed to safely reach the gates were Kota and Itsumi were lazily waiting for something to happen. They glanced over at the incoming team and they paid no attention. Wait. What were they carrying? They looked again, they could see a pale eyed girl wearing a lavender-shaded coat and holding onto a staff. She appeared dirty, bloodied and limping. The other three, one in a big coat and wearing glasses, one in a tanktop, showing her midriff. Lastly one in a grey Kimono and had very pale skin. The last three were all dragging something. Kanna was the only one verbally shouting her complaints while the other two simply grunted on with their task. As they approached the two guards simply stood there with their mouths wide open. They thought they had seen it all. Often the carcasses brought in where killed by some other creature and were usually torn beyond recognition. Here they saw three in nearly perfect condition. Hinata, who they knew over time by looking at her signature, was the only one seemingly injured but even then, it was only a limp. The pair of guards were impressed.

"Woah. Hey Itsumi look at that. Now that's what I call a haul."

Hinata was already blushing deeply, they had no idea it was someone else's doing, they even did not know her lie. The lie that she herself killed them without the help of Kanna Sai and Chiho. She just already mentally attached the glory to herself by accident through using the same logic to keep blame off others and onto herself. The Shy girl had hoped to just deliver the wolves silently without anyone notice but Kanna had other ideas.

"Impressed?" Directing her attention to the guards. "Hinata managed to kill all three by herself." She spoke with just pride in her voice.

"Wait, Hinata?" Itsumi stuttered slightly in awe. She never held anything against the lonely girl because she had her own world by the gate and her best friend, Kota. But after she just learned that the shyest girl in the village was capable against three wolves. She was stunned. Silently smiling and nodding in response, not knowing what to think.

Kanna appeared to love the attention she got as she dragged the creature throughout the village. Hinata and Chiho weren't so much but the kept up and averted away from the gazes of onlookers. Sai apparently did not care.

The excitement for Akamaru's owner only lasted until she got the chilling glare of Kurama who was sitting in the middle of the plaza, enjoying the spectacle that was a fight between Sakura and Ino. They were constantly battling for Sasuki's friendship knowing that they would be the most popular girl if they managed to claim said title from the other. Sasuki was obviously oblivious to their attempts and just so happen to be looking the direction Hinata and her ex team arrived from. Her eyebrows furrowed, then her eyes widened then furrowed once more, looking away as if to say 'yeah so what, I could do better'. Kurama noticed Sasukes radiating jealousy and was instantly attracted to the source like a moth to a light.

"How the fuck did you find those?" She jumped down from her perch and stormed across towards the group of four.

"We found Hinata after she killed all three." Sai spoke before anyone could shut her up. She had one job and that was not to piss off Kurama and you did that by not interrupting her.

"Did I ask you?" She snapped at Sai and the group swore her eyes flashed a dangerous blood red.

"Well I just assumed-"

"-Don't assume anything, I _don't_ know you." She shot off before Sai could finish. "You know what. Give me that wolf you clearly don't deserve all the glory." Kurama stepped in to take Sai, she took a step back and that seemingly angered her further. She swung her right fist at Sai because of his apparent disrespect. Unfortunately, Sai decided to step back at the last second causing her to miss. Because of how they were standing, Hinata was directly in her firing line and took the fearsome hit to the side of the cheek. Coupled with her sprained leg, Hinata was thrown to the floor with another heavy thump, staff and basket full of her gear decorated the plaza around the bluenette. Everyone remained still not daring to trigger the violent woman further. Kurama looked at her fist with interest, she had hit hard enough for her knuckles to sting. Her right fist tightened further to squeeze out the pain as if she was wringing a sponge of its water.

"You made me punch Hinata." She took a deep breath before looking at Sai then to Kanna and Chiho. "This isn't over." She huffed and walked away from the group. Sasuki had already left to do whatever Sasuki did while no one was around. However, Ino and Sakura where still fighting on the other side of the village, their voices and petty squabbling could still be heard. Hinata breathed deeply and picked herself up. Her cheek was now an angry red and it stung just as much as it looked. It was going to leave a bruise and she could already feel the stinging giving away to the dull ache. Kurama was probably the strongest girl their age and she knew it. Once Hinata looked to check if her friends were alright she found them to have the feeling of impending retribution.

"Nice going idiot. We managed to avoid her until now." Kanna was visibly annoyed at her new teammate. Almost shaking and trying her hardest to slap Sai.

"She seems nice." Sai misunderstanding the entire situation once more.

They slowly entered the council chambers. By far the largest room in the building and stretched up two stories high, leaving the ceiling in the dark gloom and void of light. The impression Hinata got was the room was far larger than it actually was. The chamber was a relic in itself, left exactly as it was since old Konoha and even kept its original purpose of administration. Only in emergencies it doubled as space for the girls to live and keep warm or safe. But since the village expended to as it is now as opposed to just residing in the one building; Hinata never knew of a moment when such emergency arose and so it remained as the council chambers. The room had the same layout as a Greek theatre. The 'stage' had a long oak table where the council of elders sat. The table was pushed far enough back to allow room for whoever was the centre of the discussion. That left rows of seats, each bank was about a foot higher than the previous lower bank of seats and they rose up to six levels. There would sit the audience, Hinata was told the old clan leaders or figures of importance would sit and watch the debate, only to put forward their input when a decision was in question. However, those days were far gone and that left the room in death-like silence. Chiho had asked an audience to declare their findings early, typically this was done just before sunset and more often than not it was over very quickly as no one really found much despite going out daily to forage. Apparently most were satisfied by living on the bare minimum of handouts given by the capital city. Having said that usually someone somehow brought something back regularly enough to keep up with regular meetings. The elders filed in one by one, using the private door that lead to where they spent most of their days in relative luxury.

Ten elders in total. Lead by Biwako, she was by far the kindest of the elders and saw everyone as part of her extended family. She was the approachable one, the supportive one, the knowledgeable one who always knew much about the world. The others were lady Hanako. A stern woman who valued exemplary behaviour and upheld the rules of higher society, she was difficult to impress as she looked at everything with judgemental eyes. Eyes which were just as white as Hanabi or Hinata herself but were void of any emotion. Lady Choza, a large woman who always appeared to eat every well despite there only being rations available, made people spread rumours that she gets the lions share. Something Cho is also rumoured to be privy to. Lady Shimako was on par to Biwako in intelligence and nothing got by her, like lady Hanako it was difficult to successfully lie in front of either and neither would hesitate to call you out on it. Although Shimako was far more intricate in her explanations. Lady Inoichi preferred the more psychological warfare. She was able to get her way through words alone and often able to persuade the other elders through political strategies. Often able to get her say in anything that might benefit her in any way and often without anyone noticing. Four others who had little personality other than grumbling about various debates, some of which were decades old by now. This left the last elder. Damariss One of the older elder and appeared to have seen much about the world, the darker side of the world. Wrapped in bandages and never without a limp or leaning on something to keep her weight off one of her legs. While this was often a cause for pity or sympathy she demanded none. It was an open secret that she did shady deals and often would approach certain individuals alone for 'off the books' propositions. She always sought the most malicious option and usually only had to persuade Inoichi to get the majority vote. Unlike Inoichi, Damariss opted for the underhanded politics, going for blackmail, threats, and persuasive, tantalising rewards. These were just rumours, the woman was careful and calculating and she knew exactly what to do and had contingency plans for all of them. Never to be formally caught or charged by Biwako who occasionally would leap at any excuse to ostracise the man from the Council. Fearing she would ultimately turn the village into something hell-bent on destroying the last remains of the male gender, something of a personal endeavour from the old woman. Damariss was able to avoid all repercussions of her actions.

Each member sat down at the table and one of the less important elders picked up a pen and held out a sheet.

"Names?" She called out in a croaked voice.

"Kanna."

"Chiho."

"H-Hinata."

"Sai." If anyone was an expert at reading in between the lines they would have noted Damariss's brief shift and the slightest of facial expressions. However, no one did notice and so the procession continued.

"What have you brought before the council."

Kanna spoke up on behalf of Hinata, she had no issues with talking to the elders but Hinata was always too reserved. "Hinata was able to obtain three wolves in good condition."

"Hinata?" Inoichi asked. "How?"

"T-they a-t-t-tacked me." Hinata quietly spoke out.

"How were you so far out that you encountered these creatures?"

"She was beyond the grand walls again." Answered on of the elders. With the general distaste for Hinata ignoring their warnings. She hung her head in shame, perhaps it is better not to tell anyone the truth.

"Hand on there…" Damariss spoke finally. Her voice was cold. "She is in a team by herself if I recall correctly."

"Yes you are right, it was settled three days ago." Shimako answered.

"Exactly, so why are you three here? You aren't in her team."

"T-they helped me c-carry them." Hinata always had a soft voice but some of the elders exaggerated the fact they struggled to hear what Hinata said some of them muttering to speak up.

"She used to be in our team, we were just looking out for her." Chiho replied, coming to the girls' aid.

"By the time we got to her she had already killed the creature before you and had sustained minimal injuries." Sai injected.

"Hmph you still look like hell." Choza commented.

"In which case we will provide you with a week's worth of food per wolf, making that three weeks, you may divide it among yourselves as you see fit." Biwako concluded sorting out the stamps to collect the food. The group noticed a couple of gold stamps which indicated items or food, something very valuable in their system of rewards.

Hanako cleared her voice and drew the attention to herself. "I think we should reward excellency. We haven't seen such a profit in a long time. We should give Hinata status to recognise her abilities. I think the title of lead gatherer should do her justice." The entire council unanimously agreed, they could profit greatly if Hinata could deliver again. Biwako hesitated when she noticed Damariss also agreed without an argument. A rare sight to see and it made her suspicious.

"However." Lady Hanako. "I will be expecting much from you. I want to see more accomplishments such as this one. Do not disappoint me." Becoming a head gatherer was a double edged sword, Hinata was now expected to go far out of the village instead of remaining close. It was something she would benefit from but the encounter of one man, two skeletons, and three wolves in the space of twenty-four hours proved to be a little much for the shy girl and she immediately dreaded the thought that she was now expected to make a discovery virtually every week. She believed that Anko used to be a head gatherer before she went missing and only to return significantly more sadistic. Regularly enacting cruel forms of 'justice' on people who so much as look at her for too long.

The meeting was concluded and as they left Chiho pulled Hinata to one side.

"You sure you are alright? I am glad you survived but to see you without any injuries makes me curious." She spoke in a stern whisper, not with any malicious intent but Chiho wanted to understand. However, Hinata only glanced to the side, Kanna and Sai were waiting out of earshot but were still present. Silently indicating that she did not trust to divulge in any information.

"I see you were incredibly fortunate." Chiho gave Hinata a rare, genuine smile. "I'm happy you survived."

"I-it's good to be back, sorry for making you worried."

"It's fine Hinata, we got more ration stamps than I've ever seen. You sure want us to keep two weeks of them?"

"Yes, you helped me carry them. If not for you, I-I would only have one." She gave them a weak smile. "I think I should g-go and wash up, maybe go to the hot spring i-if it's not n-not too full."

"That sounds like a great idea." Kanna smiled and waved her goodbye. The three girls walked away from Hinata. Chiho gave her a wave but Sai seemed clueless about saying any form of goodbyes so walked on blankly. Kanna turned around before they were out of ear-shot.

"Oh there is a present waiting at your home. Take good care of it." She gave her the thumbs up and walked after Chiho and Sai.

Hinata took a quick detour to her own house. The sun was starting to set but thankfully the hot springs were not far from the village and because of their popularity, had lights and people present. She quickly found out what the present was when she opened her door and Akamaru leaped up into her arms with a cheerful 'yahoo' like noise. There was a letter tied to him by a piece of string, the paper was not too badly chewed as Hinata opened to read the contents. It read. 'Hope you don't mind Akamaru staying here for a while, I don't trust Sai enough not to snitch on us. She is surprisingly gullible though and it is easy to have a couple hours to walk with him so don't worry about looking after him for me. Thanks so much for this favour, Kanna.' Hinata smiled as she hid her stamps so no one would 'accidently' acquire them. She still felt included by her friends which made her heart leap for joy and she felt warm for once. Perhaps she was just angry when she left, it is hard to feel lonely when she does have people to help her. She petted Akamaru for a while before getting up.

"I'll be back after a wash." She smiled at the small puppy and scratched behind his ears. He yipped happily before curling up on Hinata's bed. Wrapping the small creature in her blankets before she left. The hot springs were just that, a series of pools that feed hot water into each other before running down into the river below. Every pool here was warmed by geothermal rocks that vented further up the hillside. This allowed for the user to find the ideal temperature by moving to a pool closer or further from the spring wells themselves. The waters were crystal clear and even in the lowly electric lights that illuminated the evening sky, Hinata could still see her feet at the bottom of the pool. The white eyed girl was happy, she was finally alone in the baths after the last couple girls had left. This meant she could feel more relaxed and stretch out, typically prying eyes would make her feel vulnerable so she would huddle herself into a corner and seldom find enjoyment. The hot water washed over her soft skin and carried away the dirt, the blood and the pain. She may have had her eyes wide open but her consciousness had her picturing that garden once more. Allowing her to wonder freely, what she had not seen she just simply filled the gaps. She imagined the flowers and blossom in their height of colour, the smells of pollen and the sound of insects buzzing around. Light would scatter through the leaves on the fruit trees and dance around on the floor before her. She felt safe because of the high walls and she knew she had the strength to defend them because no one could fight harder than they would for their own home. She had remembered reading a book where people would sacrifice everything for the place they called home and for the people they love. 'Will of fire' were the words that Hinata remembered from that particular book. She ran her hands over her body to help the last of the grime wash off. What about that boy she found, yes he was different but certainly not like the beasts portrayed in the stories she had read or what the elders had ranted on about. Hn she smiled herself, of course he would be angry, he was defending his home. She could respect that. Though visiting it again might not be a bad idea. He knew how to survive after all and Hinata could benefit from learning off him. In fact she found herself with that same sense of desire as she had when out in the wilderness. What if she could learn to have the same strength? Could she be finally free?

"What are you grinning about?" A familiar but unwanted voice broke her out of her trance-like state. She had just been staring at the sky and smiling to herself. She blushed and instantly covered her body. Great she now looked even more weird to them. She finally focused on the lone figure. Of course it had to be Sasuki. But she was alone. Normally she was flanked by a few 'friends' just to validate her superiority but now she was alone and it felt more… dangerous…

"How could a pathetic worm like you fight off three wolves? You should have been their dinner. killed eaten then discarded for birds to peck at." Sasuki dropped her towel and slowly stepped down into the pool and gradually approached the blushing girl, barely making waves in the water.

"I don't believe for a second you did that yourself, who helped you?"

Hinata did not reply. She just looked into the piercing eyes. They were a crimson red, not unlike Kuramas bright hair or the colour of blood itself. They looked focused and the approaching girl walked ever closer. Sasuki was analysing Hinata in every detail, searching for the slightest sign of weakness in her defence.

"W-what's happened to your eyes?"

"Call it a gift." Sasuki gently brushed Hinata's wet hair from her face and took a good look at her bruise that was blooming on her cheek, admiring the damage Kurama had done to the timid girl. After a minute or two she fixed her gaze on Hinata's own eyes. Although intimidating, Sasuki was really looking at her own reflection, seeing the sharingan for the first time. Yep she could get used to this look. "Someone was there weren't they?" She spoke again as if she had already known all along, like a parent scalding a child. There was a certain air of 'do not cross me' on Sasuki's face.

"Anko!" Hinata blurted out something that sounded plausible. With that Sasuki 'let her go' and she felt weak all of a sudden like she was strangled, the air certainly choked her right now. Sasuki turned and walked normally out of the pool, creating splashes as she walked. She grabbed her towel and wrapped her body in it, concealing away from Hinata.

"I won't allow you to be better than me… I'll find out how you got those goods and I will take the title of head gatherer."

"W-why?"

"Hn, worms like you don't get to question a woman on a mission for greatness." Sasuki shot back a look but her eyes were back to their dark black colour that had little to no colour. She left Hinata to shiver, she felt weird after that encounter. Having finally 'earning' herself the attention of Sasuki.

Meanwhile back in the woods. The sun had not quite set at this point but the light was failing and the sky grew a more fiery orange as time ticked on by. Naruto was sitting in the gloom at the bottom of his garden. Listening to the distant evening birds and feeling the occasional itches of a midgey biting on his exposed skin. He remained ever still and looked at two grave stones. Well, they were more grave markers. Both grave heads were a pile of carefully piled stones into a tower, one on top of the next and carefully cut so they would not fall on their own volition. He did this the day before, and the day before that one and so one. Naruto did the same thing every day, sometimes he would sit in silence as he did now and sometimes he would talk to the standing stones. Striking conversations about his thoughts, adventures, and struggles. He stretched himself out so his boots were almost touching the graves. His sapphire-blue eyes looked at the names he himself had calved into the base. On one had the name Minato while the other held the name Kushina.

"Hey mum, dad…" His voice threatened to break but he resisted and remained strong.

"I saw one today… But I scared her off." He stretched out onto the grassy floor and looked up at the sky, still clinging onto the last of the light from high above. "You were right, they are beautiful…"


	5. Chapter V

**A new day a new chapter, don't really know what more to say other than that. Please review and follow, I want to know what I've done right and what I could do better. Feedback is essential if I want to write a third story.**

 **Thesunkkunoichi: thank you for seeing what I saw. I will try to update frequently, it takes me a couple days to get together a good idea and then I write about 1,000 words an hour if I don't get so distracted, I am not promising a schedule but you can get the idea, it takes about a week or two depending on how busy I am. I use this as stress relief so large events like exams shouldn't slow me down as much as I've seen in other stories.**

 **But please continue to favourite, follow, and review it's always good to wake up and a couple more people want to read more.**

 **Second Edition notes:  
Changed names.**

The white-eyed forager found herself walking through the streets of old Konoha. It had been a day since Sasuki creeped her out in the hot springs. While she had the fortune to avoid her all morning. Now Hinata was free to leave the city into the wilderness. The thing was, she did not feel entirely comfortable with the idea of leaving the village. The shy girl was tired already and the sun had hardly reached the height of mid-morning. Sleep hardly approached her during the night. Spooked too much from the wolves and the slightest noise alerted her and brought on the feeling of being stalked by the canine creatures. Strangely enough if the nightmares of wolves weren't enough, they also had the blood red eyes of the sharingan that seemed to penetrate the darkness and stare down her every movement. She felt like she couldn't hide from such monsters much less had the desire to see them again, Sasuki included. Sleep or not, Hinata also had to sit through Lady Hiashi speak her distaste on her house given to her while simultaneously being told exactly what was expected of her. The elder had ordered her to map out the surrounding wilderness. Taking advantage of her apparent desire to explore. Albeit not entirely their fault they thought that of her. Her mission comprised much like what she already did on her own terms. The elders did not know that she already tried to map out the wilderness. So the resulting discussion felt more patronising than anything else.

Walking towards the open gates of old Konoha, Hinata remembered another striking colour of eyes. Blue. Piercing much like Sasuki but where Sasuki searched for weakness, Naruto's eyes spoke about pain. Was he really alone? He can't be, about the only successful lesson taught here was teamwork conquers all adversities. He clearly knew about the citizens of Konoha having their teams so he must have a team of his own. 'Maybe I should see him again.' If Hinata could have immediately approached the blond at that very moment she would have had the courage to see him. However, as she approached the entrance to the forest, as if the large door were standing and waiting for the lavender woman to pass through. Her nerves eventually got the better of her and she hesitated. Angling her steps off to one side of the cobbled path as if her left flank was heavier than her right and it dragged her to one side. It felt like there was now a rope tied to Hinata. Where she once wanted to leave, she found herself desiring the safety the Konoha promised. Yes, she was shunned by everyone there and she could still hear their whispers but at least they were not monsters.

Hinata found a low wall to sit down on and collect herself. Idly playing with her hair for a few minutes. Breathing softly as she calmed herself down. 'Why am I so scared? I've been out there for months now and I only been attacked once. Reaching into her coat pocket and withdrawing her personal map of the surrounding landscape. She took out a fresh sheet of paper that was given to her and unfolded it on top of her old map. The new map only had Konoha and old Konoha marked on, the drawing was much smaller than her own indicating they expected her to walk for many miles to see what was still out there. She started by drawing out the main road that stretched west to as far as she knew. Carefully drawing in small detail to indicate that the path still existed. Quickly she became absorbed in recreating her personal map to the new one that she did not hear someone approach.

"Hey there, what are you doing?" The feminine voice was right in her ear causing the girl to jump up and almost throwing her map to the floor. She screamed and scrabbled to prevent anything from hitting the floor. Her antics were answered by a heartfelt laughter and so Hinata turned to see who scarred her. Her air held messy unkept purple hair, much bright than Hinata's colour but her eyes were also a bright Hazel. Both proved to reflect her light personality. The woman was older than her, that much was clear, but how much older Hinata could only guess at. She had sun-kissed skin but in parts where her outfit left exposed skin she saw pale creamy white although the colour was not uniform as several faint or small scars could be seen around her body. She stood a little taller than Hinata and considerably thinner that gave the elegant impression. Her attire did not copy her physical appearance. Wearing a green skirt, large leather belt pinning it to her hips and a tight white vest top which appeared to only reach just below her breasts although she also wore some sort of mesh over it. The mesh extended to just above her belly-button. She wore an unbuttoned scratch-proof jacket just like Hinata only it was designed to show off her figure instead of hiding it and the coat was tan in colour. The woman held her hands behind her back and leaned down to look at Hinata at eye level. Still smiling from the reaction she received off the shy girl.

"D-don't sneak up on me like that." Hinata pouted, she had an idea who it was.

"Aha. Don't be so tightly wound. Seriously I could feel you a mile off."

"S-s-still it was mean. I-err who are you?" Hinata looked down and pressed her forefingers together, still holding onto her pen as she did so.

"The name's Anko." She spoke proudly, reminding her of a more adult Kanna.

"Anko…. Oh I've heard of y-you… oh."

"Damn right you've heard of me brat. Been told you're brave enough to venture out like I used to."

"Y-you did?"

"Yeah I hardly go now since… yeah well. You picked a hard spot, the forest to the west goes on forever."

"Wait i-if you already did it t-then?"

"No no I was smart, I was up on the north side." She pointed to the cliff that backed Konoha. "Past the stone faces?"

"Stone faces?" Hinata questioned.

"Yeah look on the cliff carefully and try to picture four huge faces." Anko spoke playfully as if she was showing a child something exciting. Hinata glazed over the cliff, trying to focus and unfocused on certain places.

"O-oh I think I see one of them." It looked like a graggy cliff but in certain light she could make out half a face although it was heavily cracked and plants had grown on top of the flatter areas. "Never noticed sorry." It had surprised her to notice something so huge and was right under their nose. Anko couldn't blame her though, only one really remained and the others were smashed off. But she had once seen a very old photograph of Old Konoha with the hokage tower nestled just under them.

"Heh, it's fine I just like showing people them. So, map drawing?" Anko picked up the conversation before it dropped, she looked over the shoulder of Hinata just as she spoke, making her jump again. Much to the amusement of Anko.

"Y-yes I was told to do this. Mark out where it's good for f-food."

"Ah and you used to use a map of your own." Anku gestured at the older looking piece of paper that had more drawn on it than the crisp clean sheet. Hinata blushed a little.

"Y-yeah I used to g-go out?"

"Used to? Why aren't you running as fast as you could and explore, I love the wilderness."

"Why d-don't you do this anymore?"

"Ah." Her words were suddenly blocked at the surprising strike back from the raven-haired girl. Anko blushed and looked away. "I suppose we had a similar experience."

"W-wolves?"

"No no, there are worse things than wolv... I am not helping am i?" She looked at the girl as she edged away from Anko. "Look if you keep your head everything will be fine. I'm supposed to show you what I did in the wilderness but I am guessing it's more because I am giving the elders a headache." She sighed and remembered how fun it was to throw this girl called Sai through a window this morning. Unfortunately, it was through another girl's window and Anko quickly found out who Kurama was as she practically tore through two buildings to find Anko. Hinata nodded as the lady jumped to the road in front of her and quickly hid her hands behind her back as she spun on one foot. "You coming?" Hinata nodded and carefully hide her maps into her coat.

To say Sasuki was in a mood, would be predictable, but she had discovered she had new eyes but yet decided to keep them hidden for now, an unknown edge would be her advantage in future and that Hinata worm would no dare tell anyone. However, seeing Hinata leave with Anko had made him livid. If hate and jealousy was a liquid it would be pouring out of her lips and drugging her mind with its pollutants.

"Sasuki? Sasuki there you are." Spoke a pink haired girl from behind. "We should-"

"-Piss off, you're annoying me." That shut up her teammate. Kurama was stuck all day cleaning up the mess she made this morning and that left Sasuki without a buffer to the other girls. While she expected Sakura to be constantly on her back she was also approached by several girls trying to get her to join them for their own foraging sessions or various arts and crafts. Sasuki demanded for more than simply tinkering. But once she spied that Hinata appeared to get some personal tutoring she snapped inside. Sasuki turned and looked at Sakura dead in the eye.

"Move." Her gaze followed at the pink haired girl stepped aside by commands. Under normal circumstances Sasuki's actions would unnerve even an elder but Sakura seemingly had the unwavering passion to follow Sasuki. She stormed off to find a certain one-eyed woman.

It took a few hours of impatiently searching but Sasuki eventually found Kashina. She had her nose deep in a book that others could only guess what the content was. If it weren't for her mask covering her face everyone would be able to see her blush on occasion. Unless it was something really… imaginative… and the blush reached out of the mask. Kashina's left eye was covered in a dark purple bandanna to hide the fact she was missing an eye. Those who knew her well enough knew that a man had attacked her in the wilderness a few years ago. She lost an eye but escaped with her dignity intact. Her attired was mainly purple, purple top and purple tights but she worse a Grey jacket that reached down to her thighs. The one-eyed woman was 'resting' on top of a wall in some quiet area within greater Konoha. Her laziness was the worst kept secret and so no one bothered to ask much of Kashina other than formalities to appear like she worked daily. The small courtyard was overgrown with long reaching grass and ivy but, much to the fortune of Kashina, the sun had not reached around to her hiding spot so she enjoyed a very cool breeze as she huddled up to her book in silence. Occasionally giggling or turning a page.

"Kashina there you are."

"You knew where I was?"

"Wha? No I didn't you idiot. Took me hours to find you."

"Tut, such impatience." Kashina never once acknowledged Sasuki's existence. Her replies were delayed by reading while Sasuki answered back almost instantly.

"Listen here."

"Anger too."

"Will you shut up."

"Ask nicely."

"Bitch."

"I'm hurt."

"Stop reading that shit and take me to the fucking elder's library. Now!"

Kashina looked up once Sasuki insulted her book. Breathing in deeply. "You did not just insult my…" She stopped, finally looking at Sasuki who had red crimson eyes and a very pissed off expression on her face. "Why would you be interested in the elders' library?"

"Because you can't fucking teach for shit."

"I've taught you lots." Kashina spoke defensively. Already weighing up which answer would be less effort. "Fine what is it you want to know."

"I want to become the best gatherer in the damn village."

"Why?"

"Because someone like Hinata does not deserve such privileges. She can kill three wolves so why can't I?"

"Err Hinata is strong?"

"No she fucking isn't dipshit. Do you even _pay_ any attention? No don't answer that, I don't think anyone would say that about you."

"Alright alright I give in. Because I can't allow you into the elders' resources. I guess I'll teach you how I used to survive in the wilderness. Tomorrow morning at the west gate. You can tell your teammates."

"I'm doing this alone."

"On your head." 'And probably mine when I think about it.' Kashina thought. "Kurama will not take this kindly."

Sasuki turned and left her teacher, she might actually get something important from her for once. She passed Sakura who was out of breath from chasing after Sasuki all day. "What?" He spoke coldly but got no answer off the pinkette.

Hinata ended up learning a lot off Anko. They had now spent a couple days out in the wilderness and Anko was teaching her how to properly navigate through the woods and avoid all the damagers. Although the information was rich and valuable, it was always implied through Anko's stories. Hinata did not mind though, she hung on every word. She had where to find food described to her and what times of the year to find them in. They were walking up a winding worn path above the forest. Following the river up into the higher parts around Konoha. Up ahead Hinata could see a large waterfall that spilled over the top of the cliff. The splash kicked up a mist that refracted the light perfectly and formed a rainbow. The plunge-pool could almost be called a lake because of its' sheer size. Anko was explaining if Hinata could find her way to here then Konoha was easy to find as one of the two rivers that streamed from it snaked into the main river that flowed through old Konoha. It had apparently saved her as she ended up lost twice but walked downhill until she found the stream and then up the stream until she found the waterfall. Hinata learned that the rock was very hard here but the lake was still carved out from the larger waterfall and it only spilled in two places, smaller waterfalls but still impressive. one heading west and deeper into the wilderness and the other to the east. She was amazed that given enough time, water alone could create something so beautiful. The pair walked up the side path on the smaller waterfall and got a taste first-hand what Anko had been describing. Although there were several still-standing buildings crowding around the lake. Giving the impression that long ago, people had thought the same as the pair of women did now. Had Hinata saw the hamlet in its glory she would have agreed that the buildings added to the scenery. However, the wood rotted and the paint had all but flaked off, leaving unsightly stains. Windows were broken and a few roofs had completely collapsed. Spilling tiles to the road below. Across both outflows, just before they fall down their respective waterfalls in opposite directions, held up stone bridges that were still in good condition. Survived against time despite its corroding effects.

"I think we will camp here, if the waterfall doesn't keep you awake."

"It's so beautiful." Hinata pressing her fingers together and blushing.

"Was, sadly I think we've been the only two people visiting here for many many years. Ah I used to stay in here." They walked to a large rectangular building. Anko pushed open the doors as the creaked loudly on their rusted hinges. A few cracks threatened to split the door off its hinges but Anko managed without damaging the building. Inside looked like a feasting hall. Of some sort. Four long tables still stood at kneeling height in an opened square formation. Entry was allowed at each corner. In the middle of the tabled sad a square open fireplace. Complete with ash still sitting where fuel and fire ought to be. Hinata felt cold now she was out of the sun. Autumn had finally swung by in full force and the weather had just hit that uncomfortable stage where it's too warm in the sun but too cold in the shade. It did not help that the walls were exposed to the outside. There were small wooden frames set as squares that Anko explained once had thick paper to keep the wind out but obviously they didn't survive for very long once no one was left to take care of the building. The older lady lead the younger into the back room where the kitchens had already been pushed to the walls, allowing space for them to camp.

"This is the most sheltered room in the house, the rest are a bit too exposed to be comfortable. Once you get your eye in you'll see there are many houses like this that are still habitable." Anko explained as Hinata looked around the room.

"They were very beautiful weren't t-they."

"Yeah once someone actually cared. I have no idea why they don't teach anyone to build properly, those buildings in the village are lethal."

"T-t-t-they only w-want to see us a-as the pinnacle of s-society."

"Tsh easy for them to say. I remember the capital city being made of gold."

Hinata giggled softly. "H-how long since you've been there?"

"Hinata, it's rude to ask a lady her age." Anko pointed her finger in the air as if to 'tut' her.

She smiled again. "Hey, is-is it ok if I sleep? I'm very t-tired."

"Sure, you go right ahead, tomorrow we are going to the top of the waterfall. I'll show you the path."

Anko watched as the white eyed girl got out her blankets and wrapped herself up. It was not the most comfortable place to sleep but regardless the shy girl found sleep and it came easily to her. The older woman watched as her chest would lightly rise and fall. She smiled and hoped that the world would take to her kindly. Hinata was a good girl but she was aware of how poorly people treated her. It was as if Hinata was the unlikely heroin in some sort of story. Her talents were under appreciated but she just needed to find the right moment for them to shine. There was no secret to Hinata, even her eyes were well known in the village. That made her humble, never wanting to cause trouble or harm and Anko admitted she liked the girl's company. Anyone else would have pressed her buttons or tried to get a reaction out of her. Anko reacted well much to everyone's amusement and she became just as much of a joke as Hinata appeared to be. She slowly fell asleep herself, thinking about how good the past couple days had been with Hinata.

Next morning started much like that others, a light breakfast of roasted chestnuts the found on their trips. Hinata learning where to find them under which tree. They packed up in five minutes and gathered by the lake. Hinata had almost forgotten the roar of the waterfall until she stepped out of the door to greet the early morning. Anko smiled at Hinata because she gave a slight shiver when the breeze blew cold air past her neck.

"W-We are going t-to need warmer clothes."

"Oh? And where from? Capital city doesn't supply much aside from rations and occasional requests." Anko sounded a bit resentful in her voice but Hinata decided to let it pass. She remembered about Naruto suddenly. The memory already slightly fuzzy but she could see the boy's blue eyes as clear as the sky above her. She had only been thinking of him when Anko left her alone for periods of time to do take a break. But once she was no longer alone she concentrated on the here and now and listened to Anko as she started her stories up again. She felt a bit ashamed of forgetting the man who saved her from the wolves. Knowing she will have to find a way to make it up to him. After the trip with Anko of course, she did not want anyone to find out about Naruto. Considering the implications of finding a man. She had managed to push the question yesterday about Anko's thoughts on men. She asked subtly about if Anko ever saw one. The woman shook her head. 'There are worse things than men… the Akatsuki. A group of women who devote their lives hunting them down. As you can see they were very good at what they did.' Hinata remembered the pang of guilt, she assumed that he would have friends. But what were the odds of that?

The pair walked over the bridge that spanned the western river. Anko allowed Hinata to look over the forest that stretched beyond her. They were only just above the canopy here but already the trees looked like they stretched on to the horizon. Like an endless sea of green swaying softly like waves. Not that she had ever seen the sea but instead only read about it in books. She knew Naruto was down there somewhere and she wondered what he was up to. If he remembered her as well. Hinata softly mouthed the words 'thank you'. So that Anko couldn't hear. Taking a deep breath the shy girl turned to face Anko and indicate she had seen her fill of the landscape. However, her expression of bliss turned instantly to fear. Anko was gripping the stone side of the bridge with her left hand while tightly seized her left should. She struggled under the pain but it was clear that she was suffering.

"A-Anko a-are y-you-"

"Run… Hinata… Get out of here!" She spat out her commands. Blood dripping from her mouth and nose. Hinata took a step back before running into something… or more accurately, someone."

"Now now Anko it's been a while hasn't it." Hinata slowly looked up to see a tall woman with snow white skin that was deathly cold to Hinata touch. Her tongue flicked out as she spoke. "And who might you be?"

"Run!" Hinata crumbled and ran away from the strange woman. She hesitated about Anko and turned to try and pull her with me. Her hesitation costed her the escape route. Something long and windy shot past her and almost speeds too fast for her eyes to comprehend. Blocking the other side of the bridge was a large coiled snake. Hissing at Hinata with the tail rattling with evil intent.

"Oh, compassion, what a feeling that brings." The woman smirked. "It's rude to walk away while I am talking to you. Now both of you come with me." Anko finally screamed out in pain as her legs buckled and she fell to her knees.

"Now Hinata, come with me, I have much to show you."

"W-who are y-you? What ha-have you done? How do you kn-know my n-name?" Hinata spoke quickly and tried her best to hide her stutter but it was obvious she was terrified.

The woman gave another smirk. "I'm Orochimaru." The look of stunned surprise on Hinata's face was too much for the witch and she laughed. The laugh sounded like she was far above Hinata's league. It boasted power and highlighted how powerless she was. With a shaking hand Hinata slowly reached for her blade. She had not realised what she was doing under she felt the handle fall under her grip. Orochimaru just looked at her amused.

"My my you've brought me a feisty one, reminds me of how you used to be."

"H-how are y-y-you still-?"

"-Alive? My dear I have found immortality."

"Keep your filthy paws off ahhh!" Anko cried out as a new wave of pain silenced her on command.

"You have beautiful eyes." Orochimaru seemingly ignored the cries of agony by Anko. "Such power and I know how to unlock it all for you. Come with me and no one will treat you wrongly again." Hinata took another step back. Revenge was not what she wanted, she had people who cared about her and that was more than enough to fill her heart. "Even Anko here was only brining you to me." Hinata looked at her to see if the snake-like woman was lying. Anko was breathing heavily but she looked away. Hinata's heart sunk deeply in her chest. Was all that to get her alone? Did she mean nothing? Hinata made a whimpering noise just as Anko grabbed her. The shy girl screamed under the grip. Anko stood up with all her might although pain was shooting through her body and it felt like she would be drained of all strength in a matter of moments.

"Hinata… I'm sorry." The young girl did not hear her apology but there was no mistake in how her lips moved. The bluenette was roughly thrown over the side of the bridge and into the water below. In slow motion, she watched as the snake lunged at Anko and bit her on the side of her arm, also pushing Anko over into the water with Hinata. Their screaming lasted only until they hit the water with a loud splash. Hinata only saw the dark water bubble around her. She tried desperately to move and grab onto something to prevent the current but the icy water had already dragged them over the waterfall. She couldn't breath as she was washed away, hardly feeling her body being bashed against rock after rock as she was hauled off down the river. Her vision grew dark but fortune would not allow her to slowly greet the abyss. One moment she was scrambling over the rocks to find a hold anywhere the next her head collided with a rock and the world turned black as if the light was switched off. Her body no longer moving around.

Orochimaru stood on the bridge and watched as the two bodies fell into the river below. She had her snake wrapped around her neck like a scarf. Seemingly un-phased by the day's events.

"Hmph I'll have to find someone else." The ancient woman walked away as if mentally washing away all her crimes, if something was possible.

Naruto was by the river checking to see if his nets had caught anything. The water here was deep enough for river-pike to swim so far up and so he took advantage to lay out traps. Traps allowed him to get on with something else although he still did conventional fishing when he felt like an easy-going day. The blond stood on a pebbly beach on the inside of a meander. On the far side was a heavy overhang of trees and bushes but here he was able to enjoy the sun as he began to craft a few more arrowhead from flint. He sat on the beach topless to allow the sun to keep him warm. Holding the flint core in his left hand and a rounded stone in his right. The isolated boy struck down on the flint and chipped off a decent sized piece. He placed the core down to concentrate on the smaller flake. Chipping down one edge until he was satisfied. He tested it on his thump and sure enough it felt like it could cut him if he applied any more pressure. Naruto was about to shape the other side when he got the feeling of unease. He looked up to see what was going on.

"Who's there?" His voice crackled.

Just as he spoke a body came into view on the water. The person way unmoving but face down in the river. 'Wait.' He thought. 'Unmoving and face down? Shit!' Naruto leaped up and dropped everything. He charged into the water, throwing away his tools and jumping over one of his nets. He dived in once he was deep enough and swam to the unconscious girl. He immediately latched on and turned her over. Leaning back, she he could support her weight. He held her under his left arm and kicked with his feat until he beached himself. Grunting as he accidently bashed his head and shoulders. Dragging the girl ashore. He fidgeted trying to think what to do. Blushing he grabbed his knife and cut her shirt off. He remembered reading about first aid and right now he had to throw all embarrassment out to the wind. He blushed after he though what he was doing and he forced himself to stop at her bra. Not that he knew it was a bra but he knew enough that it was the last line of defence to her naked body. He pressed her hands where her diaphragm was and he counted slowly as he jolted her body. After eight he pulled her lips apart on neeped her nose. He leaned down and breathed deeply into her lungs. He was about to repeat the process just as Hinata woke up to a coughing fit. Water being spat out as if she was being sick. The girl wretched up more water until passing out again in front of Naruto. At least she was breathing steadily now. The blond picked her up bridal style, one arm under her shoulder and the other under her knees. He looked at his hand by her head to see it covered in her blood. 'She must have fallen into the river.' he thought to himself. The blue eyed man stood up with her in his arms and carried her off to his home so he could stop the bleeding.


	6. Chapter VI

**Some changes have been made about the names, I said I had not renamed some of the genders but I have now resolved that issue and renamed them as such: ~ This is for those who have been keeping up with the story.  
Sasuke as Sasuki  
** **Kiba as Kanna  
** **Shino as Chiho  
** **Kakashi as Kashina (not to be confused with Kushina)  
** **Lee as Leann  
** **Neji as Hanabi (it's a shame because I like Neji, might include him (yes a him) later though but Hanabi made more sense)  
Shikamaru as Shigeko  
Choji as Cho  
** **Sai as Sai still (I think names are less important to Sai seeing as it was given by Danzo.)  
Kotetsu as Kota  
Izumo as Itsumi  
** **Orochimaru as Orochimaru still (I doubt Orochimaru would care much that and he/she/whatever would have likely experimented and been either or neither girl or boy.)  
Hiruzen as Biwako (His wife essentially but similar in personality)  
Danzo as Damariss (struggled to find a good name but I hope this works out.)** **  
**

 **elders have name changes but they are less important and other names that are 'missing' from the list I have not written about between now and this chapter.**

 **I'd like to give massive shout-out to NarHina who has helped me sort my story out, He's been around reviewing both of my stories (I am guessing your filters are permanently on the lookout for Naruto and Hinata pairings) But seriously, thank you so much for your help.**

 **Thesunkunoichi: Damn right i'll give you 180's and yeah Normally Hinata would be and she was terrified at first but fate has other plans. But thank you for enjoying it so far.**

 **Guest A: sorry about paragraph lengths, I've been more mindful.**

 **AlphaScibe: I am guessing you mean her swearing, where I am from swearing isn't very offensive but I am guessing you saw it as overly aggressive. Ah well. As for piling on Hinata, it was all for plot, I didn't want to explain over eighty chapters how every detail came to be, take it with a pinch of salt. But I am glad you enjoy my story.**

 **Please continue your support through favourites follows and reviews.**

Slowly Hinata opened her eyes. Not sure what she was expecting, but she figured she should be either dead, floating down the river or washed ashore somewhere in the forest. Lost and far from home. She certainly was not expecting to be staring into the rafters of a ceiling above and wrapped in warm and comfortable rugs. She blinked a few times to get used to the light spilling in from a couple small windows to either side of the door. After a while Hinata looked down to see where she had been laying in. Her body was situated in the centre of a large bed that took up the entire floor space in the part of the house she occupied. Covering her were numerous fur rugs, some grey, some brown, some had long fur while others had patterns running across the skin.

Looking around the silver eyes noticed that she was in a very cosy and well-loved house. There was a large fireplace opposite the main door that had a few chairs and what looked to be her jacket and pants strung up on the back of one of the chairs. Opposite the bed and across the flagstones that laid the floor of the single room was a table with more chairs. Pots and pans hung above a basin by the walls, wooden cupboards and benches accompanying them. From her angle, she could spy some food was being prepared and sitting on the table waiting to be cooked.

The smell in the room was musky to say the least. The air laid thick with smoke, wood, game, and something she would come to recognise as Naruto's smell. Right now, it had overpowered her own scent and she knew it would take a long time to get used to such new experiences. It was, simply put, alien to her.

The only other information her eyes could gleam from the room was the number of books that lined every possible free space. The walls appeared to be devoted to storing such books. Some looked well-worn and battered, some had patterns and were ornate while others look plain and did not suggest much in the way of personality. The nearest one of which sat on a small table by the bed by an unlit candle that had already melted part of the way down. She slowly pushed herself to the beds' edge and picked up the book. Being heavier than she was expecting, Hinata had to readjust herself before bringing the book to her face. ' _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.'_ The girl curiously opened the spine and allowed the pages to fall to the bookmarked page. She had not heard the backdoor hidden by the fireplace open as she began to read.

"That's one of my favourite books ya know."

The sudden voice made Hinata jump visible and she dropped the book onto her lap. She shifted under the rugs so she couldn't possibly offend the owner.

"You can read it. I don't mind." The boy that Hinata recognised as Naruto by his blond hair and the unmistakable rough voice that sounded dry from the lack of use. Instead of standing there and making the poor girl uncomfortable, the blond decided to get on with preparing the meal. He grabbed two bolts of cloth and picked off a pan from the fireplace. Pulling away the lid and sweeping in the vegetables into the cooking pot. He sat in front of the fireplace and poked at the soup, never looking at Hinata.

"H-how did I ge-get here?" Hinata quietly broke the silence.

"Hm? Oh…" He paused. "I found you unconscious in the river."

"R-river?" Hinata struggled to remember and as if by cue her head flashed a spike of pain and she grabbed it. Trying to massage the ache away. First of all, Hinata found her head wrapped in bandages. If she could see herself it would look like a while beanie hat with her long raven hair slipping out from underneath. Second of all, her head was still tender and she let out a small yelp as she accidently hurt herself.

"You must've had a nasty fall."

"Anko!" She squeaked and Naruto turned to look at her with confusion in his blue eyes."

"Anko? Oh erm, I didn't see anyone else. Sorry. What happened?"

Hinata timidly pressed her forefingers together and frowned at herself. "I-I can't… remember." The white eyed girl hung her head in shame. "I remember waking up I think." She muttered to herself, the events of that morning were completely blurred beyond recognition. By this time Naruto turned to attend to the soup. He stood up to cut out a couple slices of bread. Eventually he poured out some soup into a bowl and walked over Hinata and handed her over her meal. She felt increasingly nervous as he approached but Naurto flashed her a smile.

"Dig in, you must be hungry."

"W-why are you so-so kind?" Hinata nervously asked as she lifted her spoon to her mouth. It was hot but suddenly there was an explosion of flavour unlike anything she had experienced in a long time.

"Hm?" Naruto was caught off guard. Had he done something wrong?

"I-it's just i-I thought m-men were m-monsters?"

"Hmm… that crap again?" Naruto spoke quietly as he looked into his bowl. After a few seconds, as if he was asking the soup a question he looked up at the girl and smiled. A large grin that showed nothing but reassurance. "Mum and Dad taught me to be nice to everyone. To treat everyone equally and with respect."

"I-I'm sorry…" Hinata responded she hadn't meant to sound ungrateful but her words could not elegantly describe her thoughts. But her heart leaped when she had found the answer to her worries, Naruto wasn't alone so it seems.

"It's fine…" Naruto took a mouthful of soup and quickly finished his bowl.

"W-where are y-your p-parents?" Hinata hoped to rekindle the conversation. Apparently, she asked the wrong thing as the blond boy slumped further into his chair.

"Gone." He said darkly. He allowed the awkward silence to fill the room as he thought about his mum and dad. It all happened suddenly when one day Naruto heard panicked screaming from his mum and a minute later his dad kneeled in front of him. Looking almost identical save for the age gap and Minato's lack of whisker-like birth marks. He looked deep into his son's eyes. He spoke with words that flew. 'You remember that hidey hole? The one we would hide in when your mum was angry for a joke? Yeah? I want you to go there. Run. Please. I'll come to find you but don't move from there? Promise.' Naruto hardly had time to respond when his dad stood up and grabbed the axe by the workshop and rushed to his wife's aid.

The child hid as he was told but hours passed before he worked out that no one was going to come. Tears in his eyes he wondered silently and cautiously back to his home. He slowly walked through the back door to see his home was largely as he found it. A moment of hope lasted until he looked at the main door to see it wide open. A pool of blood stained the stone floor but no bodies were to be found. His parents were gone and wall that was left was a large stuffed fox's tail that his mother, Kushina, always had tied to her belt for luck.

"S-sorry… forget I s-said… anything." Hinata whispered and broke Naruto out of his thoughts. He remained silent before deciding to change the subject.

"What about you? You're from the Hyuuga clan right?"

"H-hyuuga?" Hinata thought she had heard that word before but never associated with her.

"Yeah I thought I recognised your eyes from somewhere." Naruto jumped up and carefully placed his empty bowl down. He searched a nearby bookshelf for a moment before pulling a dull red book from the rest. Naruto sat down by the fireplace and opened it to a random page before flicking through some more.

"Ah here." He handed the book over to the newly discovered Hyuuga. Hinata looked at the page, On the left side was a portrait of several people all posing for a clan picture. Each Hyuuga shared one thing in common, their eyes were all the same; pale silver. Hinata noticed some wore them with the expression of icy coldness that reminded her of her sister or the elder. While others seemed to see the world with the look of love and compassion, despite their neutral faces, Hinata could see they still smiled inside. She continued to read the background history of her ancestry.

"Heh you look so cute and curious when reading." Naruto slapped his hands over his mouth and blushed deeply. Hinata doing much the same. "S-sorry it kinda came out I err didn't mean anything."

"I-it's ok. I-I err not u-used to it."

"You can leave I guess, I'm not stopping you…" Naruto muttered through his hands, believing she meant she was not used to men. The truth being she was not used to many complements.

"B-but I like it h-here."

"You do?" Naruto asked inquisitively but the sound of hope did not go unnoticed. "Then can we be friends?"

Hinata looked directly in his eyes to see if there was any sign of deceit. She felt a warm flow through her stomach, a feeling not too dissimilar to stretching first thing in the morning. It tensed her muscles momentarily and she felt the pleasure of acceptance run through her. She hadn't noticed that her stunned silence had been going on long enough for Naruto to mutter 'guess not' as he got up to leave her in peace.

"N-naruto?" He turned to see her and hear her answer, her tongue got tied but the girl managed to nod.

"I'll be back in a minute I'll just need to check up something… you should err… get dressed." He blushed a deep crimson that would rival Hinata's cheeks as he quickly shuffled outside. Hinata immediately realised what he meant as she had let slip on of the rugs and noticed she only wore her underwear. Her brain either was going to faint or scream. Taking the latter she let out a high pitched scream that sounded closer to a loud prolonged 'eep' as she frantically wrapped herself. She felt ashamed that she was so improperly dressed. Although then again, she should have guessed before because her clothes were on the back of the chair in front. Had this been another reality she would have been shyer over someone seeing her so intimate. However, in this world she was only taught how to dress properly and any deviation was a sign of disrespect on herself and the onlooker. Certain activities such as bathing were considered the only appropriate time to show their bodies without causing offense.

She inched herself to her clothes and snatched them off the chair. All articles were hers apart from the shirt which she realised was actually Naruto's. She looked around for an alternative but instead saw none and sighed as she dressed herself. The shirt smelt strongly of Naruto but the edge was taken off her softer lavender aroma that was always associated with the white-eyed girl.

Meanwhile Naruto flinched when he heard the scream. He was breathing heavily and hoping that the advice Kushina parted to him would help him make the right choice. He knew meeting a girl was unavoidable seeing how close he lived to a colony. First impressions were important… he cocked that up by scaring the girl. Complements, something he should try. Not sure how though. His dad always tried but quickly couldn't continue through blushing, his mum would just sigh and kiss him calling him an idiot. Kissing? No, he couldn't. He was told it was only for someone really special and he had no idea what that meant. The blue-eyed boy massaged his temples before collecting his thoughts. Where was Jiraiya when you need him?

Jiraiya was one of the few other people Naruto knew. The man was a good friend of his dad and even took a liking on Naruto. However, he had not seen him since before he lost his parents. Jiraiya always held the air of a wise old man with bottomless wisdom and Naruto would intently listen to his stories. He would soak up the tales of epic battles, dangerous people and hidden places. Sometimes he would let his more deviant side show but Kushina would always thump him on the head if he started elaborating on certain woman too much. Naruto did not understand why or what was it about woman the old man focused on but at least he knew of them and could help Naruto from messing up in front of his first friend. If he would return, Naruto had just about given up hope to see the old man again.

Slowly Naruto, who had thought he gave her enough time, knocked on the door and carefully entered. He was expecting s slap, another thing Kushina did to Minato to keep him in line. Naruto figured he had done something wrong despite he only wanted to save her. He entered and stood in front of a bowing girl. Her hair covering her face.

"I'm sorry for offending you." She squeaked, eyes closed tight.

"Wha? Oh you're not mad that I." He blushed again. "You were soaked and I didn't want you to catch a cold ya know. Wait you offending me? Since when?"

"Y-you-you're not off-offended?" She didn't understand was he expecting her to be angry? The blond rescued her how could she?

"You can stand up now. Oh, I guess I should be sorry about last week. For scaring you."

"Erm. N-n-naruto? C-could you tell m-me h-how you got s-so strong?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I-I mean, you can survive despite being a-alone. My village s-struggles and winter is c-coming."

"I'm not going anywhere near that place. They'll skin me alive."

"I-its b-because they think y-you're a monster…"

"Oh and what do you think?"

"M-monsters don't s-save people… twice."

"In that case I'll help you. You just have to ask. But. Could you not tell anyone about me? I err don't want to be… known." He scratched behind his ear as the blond trailed off.

"I'll keep y-you a s-secret." Despite her stutter the sincerity was there in her voice and Naruto visibly relaxed.

"Thank you." Naruto stepped to hug the Hyuuga. She flinched and caused him to flinch. Hinata decided to match his approach but hesitated and they both looked away and blushed.

"I-I should g-go back."

"Err yeah. Though could you do me a favour? I need some materials like cloth and copper. Is it possible for you to get me some? It's just I can't get everything I need here."

"L-like a trade?"

"Yeah. Seeing as you're wanting to know about what I do." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head once more. Hinata lost herself in thought.

"I'll be back in a c-couple of days."

"See you then. You remember the way back?"

"Y-yes, I think so, thank you. F-for saving me.

"It's what friends do." Naruto smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "You would have done the same. Oh, would you like to borrow that book? The one about clans, and I guess the one I was reading if you really want. I think you'd appreciate the reading." He turned to pick up both books and handed them to Hinata. It wasn't that he assumed Hinata did not have books of her own but judging by her reactions he knew she did not have these books specifically.

"B-but you're reading th-that one."

"I know, but you looked interested in it. Besides I have others." Hinata carefully took the books off the blond and hugged them close to her chest as if they were fragile.

"I'll b-be b-back." She spoked with a soft sweet voice that was such a stark contrast to Naruto's own voice. He just smiled as she bowed and turned to leave.

Hinata internally grimaced at the thought. 'You would have done the same.' Would she? She was certainly too weak to protect him. Considering how clumsy she was and people thought little but expected much from her. Was she weak physically or weak mentally? Well her body was certainly smaller and she did not have anywhere near the strength. The Hyuuga doubted if she should even wrap her hand around his wrist if he were to let her.

She hoped that Naruto would help her but she knew how dangerous keeping him as a secret could be. The girl had the advantage of being the underdog in the village but it was autumn now and life was only going to get harder. Always used to have her team to aid her but not since the council casted her out away from her comrades. This spelled out real risk of falling ill or even die over winter. This answered her question, she had to become better in both disciplines.

Surprisingly the shy girl wanted to be selfish with her demands. As she walked away from the forested cottage she allowed her thoughts to run wild. Chiho and Kanna were the only two she trusted to benefit from her exploits. That and Naruto. She blushed. He was certainly not a monster and had treated her with kindness despite not knowing anything about her. She found it ironic that he must have been just as scared of a girl as she was of a man. Naruto had certainly earned her trust, certainly enough to also help and so she was going to make sure she returned with what he asked. He certainly smelled nice, now that the forest air made sure his scent was not overpowering.

Sasuki had been waiting for Kashina to move her arse. She had agreed to teach various skills needed to survive as a teacher should. 'Tomorrow _morning_ at the west gate.' With emphasis on the morning. Kashina was nowhere to be found and Sasuki was bored. Her pride got too far in the way of returning to the village and besides it would be none-stop gossip from Sakura or cleaning up after Kurama. Both of which were beneath the moody woman. She was destined for better and, although she hated to admit it, Hinata seemed to be the more interesting character. Or, more accurately in Sasuki's opinion, been in more interesting events. She was still considered below her.

Regardless Sasuki noticed someone approaching from the outside, eyes gazed up at the approaching figure. Not Kashina. So the girl flicked her head the other way so fast her hair whipped in front of her face.

"tch." Was the only word of acknowledgment as Hinata passed. The Hyuuga nervously rubbed her arms as she sheepishly passed. Somehow hoping no one would noticed that she was injured again. Not that the bandages around her head made it easy to avoid attention. Even Sasuki bored her eyes into the bluenette to guess at what kind of situation she had been into. Curious about what she was carrying and whether or not they were something new or she had taken them with her.

"She seems to be getting busy." A none-committal voice made Sasuki jump, trying her best to pass it off as calmly standing up.

"where the hell have you been?"

"Me? Oh I saw a ring of mushrooms and I-"

"-No you didn't." Sasuki interupted

"How about I was lost on the path of life?"

"You're not even bloody trying now."

"The elders asked me to do something."

"Plausible, but I am calling bullshit."

"Helping Kurama?"

Susuki did not reply and just gave her an impatient look. It was a clear lie, Kashina would not do anything if it meant effort.

"Alright fine I was reading, I got caught up in a chapter and I didn't…"

"Swear to god I am going to burn that fucking book. I've been waiting for fucking hours." Sasuki took a deep breath to calm herself down. Kashina angled her body away defensively and covered the part of her jacket that contained her reading material with her arms. "You're hear now, can we just go already?"

The two walked out for a while before Kashina had to ask something.

"So erm what was it you're wanting to learn."

"Well I was hoping you would have known something." Sasuki's voice dripping with Sarcasm. "I want to be good at what I do and beat the competition." She motioned where Hinata has passed about ten minutes now.

"Well I suppose the first thing you should know is that everything nearby and easy has already been found."

"Hn." Sasuki replied but continued to listen.

Spluttering and sobbing on the rocks lay Anko. To say that she was in rough shape would be an understatement. The venom had coursed through her veins and while she knew she would survive, because she had not already died from the venom. She was completely vulnerable laying among the stones. The waterfall that she fell down could steal be heard but it sounded like a dull drone in her skull. After attempting to pick herself up her arms gave in and forced her to the gravel. Her vision was constantly blurred and skittered around as if she was drunk. It was some miracle that her body even found the river edge as the fast-moving water had clearly snatched Hinata away.

Her ears twitched as she heard the crunching of gravel approach her. With a heave, she rolled over onto her back but to at least see who or what was going to kill her. The movement shook her brain in the wrong way made her instantly vomit from nausea. Had she been in health she would have seen a large old looking man with many wrinkles and small scars over his face and exposed skin, which was covered in his green robes and red jacket. Several fur pelts, tools, sacks and trinkets hung lazily across his shoulders or waist as if used to keep warm, or camouflage, or ease of access and use. He held a large rucksack of woven hemp on his back and what could only be described as a long mane of white hair which fell this way and that. From behind it even looked like he wore a white-furred cape.

With a grim face, the tall figure watched as the struggling woman choked on her bile, her face was beetroot red out of effort but all was in vein. The man kneeled by her and rolled her to one side. He untied a large sash of water from his belt and with large yet careful hands he washed Anko's face and made sure the girl could breath. She looked terrified and probably could not even recognise the man as human, rather as a large bear if size had anything to say about it. The man noticed something about the woman, she was bleeding by her side and it only took a quick rub from his thumb to confirm two pin pricks causing the blood to flow.

"Orochimaru… I'm sorry I was too late… and, I am also sorry for I am not Tsunade, but I think I know how to treat you." He spoke softly to himself as he picked up the injured woman. She tried to resist by pushing away but her strength was so feeble that the man just looked grimly at her attempts. He had no idea how potent the venom was but he doubted she fully understood what was going on.

Anko did not scream as would be expected when being 'attacked' instead she just gurgled as her strength dripped away from her limbs. It only took a moment but her eyes rolled in her skull and she fell unconscious to the venom.


	7. Chapter VII

**First and foremost please excuse the long wait. I was taking a short break from writing and the rewrite of my first fiction was also taking a long time. I was rewriting whole chapters while taking care of the plot holes that had developed overtime. I would have posted this chapter sooner too but I put myself off because I really wanted some light stalking from Hinata. But because of my pace and natural flow of the story I've been unable to add any which is a shame. However with a PM and a boot up my arse I've decided to just go for it, it'll be different from the status quo.**

 **Also my god I did a lot of research and planning into the chapter so I hope you appreciate trying not to give myself plot holes (sounds like a disease)**

 **Epic-Feirywolf: Glad you enjoy both my fictions, I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted. But going on with my original plans I'll hopefully have more content sooner rather than later.**

 **Thesunkunoichi: You'll find out.**

 **NarHina: Glad you like their interaction, and don't worry fate will squeeze them together soon enough. And yeah I like the idea of some level of training although Sasuki will be much more arrogant about it. And I couldn't find your community, should I just go onto your profile?**

Hinata knew she would have to bring bad news to the elders, not only was Anko missing but she would need a new map and knife, her basket that stored her items was also missing which meant she lacked a couple blankets, pots, pans, and food. Although she wouldn't dare trade her books for such items she remembered the stash of favours she earned from the wolves, they would prove to be exactly what she needed. The shy girl ducked her gaze and walked forward. Passing a group of women, she did not know the names of. They were all fussing over how they couldn't find anything all day and had already given up. After all the state hands, out enough food to survive to what was the point to them. While there were many hours still left in the autumn days none of the people would lift a finger to change the situation they were in. There were stark contrasts between what Hinata experienced over the past couple days and how life in Konoha grind on oblivious to the many dangers outside. While she worked hard and risked much for the village only to receive the disgusted looks she could feel prickling on the back of her neck.

Whispers about 'how she looked' and 'how weird she must be'. Hinata admitted she must look rough and she did not pay much attention to her appearance. Her coat must have been torn at one point and even her bandages were stained red from where the wound had not clotted fast enough. Her hands were dirty and her leg would occasionally threaten to give out from under her which caused her to limp when she put too much weight on it.

The Hyuuga gave them a side-on glance. Half of them were just lying on the wall looking up at the sky and waiting for the sun to set. Some wore typical white and red Kimono's, while others opted for bright colours or floral patterns. Hinata knew they lacked pockets and even restricted movement in efforts to look neat and elegant as if expecting inspections from an elder. Once Hinata wore a similar dress code but she always felt too conscious while wearing it and the attention she brought quickly put her off in favour for her current attire. Something she greatly appreciated when winter came around. This year would mark her forth winter outside the capital and she knew exactly how cold Konoha gets once the frost and snow start to lay layer upon layer of ice and silence over the village.

It was this season that really separated those who worked with those who didn't. Food quickly became insufficient, hard to find while fuel became in dire need. However, it would be too cold for most to venture outside and so only a few would actually collect firewood for the entire colony. Things would get desperate and Hinata knew that people like these fickle girls would turn on their friends if given half a chance.

On the other hand, Hinata had overheard some of the older members of the village that the past few years had been relatively mild which either suggested a bad winter was coming up or things have become easier for life outside the comforts of the capital city. Hinata was briefly worried about her own position, without her friends to help her and with the title of head gatherer. She winced at the thought that people would start begging or worse, abusing her for resources because she was separate and therefore vulnerable. She could not understand it, if they worked on their situation then she could picture Konoha just as comfortable as the capital.

However, reality was crueller still, her home came into sight. A small shack essentially. As she entered the cramped space the girl could only shiver. The room was far from cosy. It was bare and even somewhat dusty if it wasn't for Akamaru sleeping on her bed. The blankets were woven flax or hemp. Her wool ones of course were lost in the river. Akamaru gave a curious growl before going back to sleep once he finally noticed it was Hinata. Said girl sat on the bed and instantly laying down. Her feet were almost touching off the edge of her mattress and that was even when taking care not to bang her head. She needed to rest. Not to sleep per se but her mind was tired, slowly processing her interaction with Naruto and the loss of Anko. She bit her lip and tried to hold back. It happened and she prayed that Anko, like her, survived.

After a cry, she felt… functional… It was good enough although she missed the time spent with Anko. She took deep breaths. Crying was something Anko told her to never do. It took a few attempts to quell the rising lump in her throat. At this point Akamaru rearranged himself to be within petting range and offer the sad girl some comfort. As if he was saying Anko will be fine. You managed, she will have managed. The Hyuuga was in obvious denial and it would seriously affect her as days to come pass her by. Hinata decided to fumble with Naruto's books it kept her hands busy and with time she welcomed the distraction as she opened the pages. In her hands was the book about clans. She kept flicking through about the many clans that once inhabited old Konoha. She was not planning to dive into any particular clan but instead just quickly look at each photo in turn and see what they were like. Some clans were large while some were small. Some had extensive history while others took up only one page as a minor clan.

In a couple hours Hinata had seen the majority of the book, occasionally stopping to read small passages if she felt like it. Her plan had worked, concentrating on the book had pushed her worry over Anko to the back of her mind. She flicked another page and instead of seeing another clan name she instead saw a piece of paper fall from the book. It glided to and fro until it landed on the floor by her feet. The paper stared back at the curious girl just as much as she looked back at it. She leaned down to pick up the piece slowly and brought it up to her face to read it better.

In her hand was a page containing a very neat 'Naruto Uzumaki' followed by several poorly written attempts of the same name. Some were even complete with ink stains from when Naruto must have used far too much ink while writing. She turned her gaze back to the book where the page was hiding and discovered she was not on the 'Uzumaki' page but instead the 'Uchiha' page. They had one distinctive image under their entry. Two red eyes with black markings around the pupil. Hinata instantly recognised them as Sasuki's eyes and she shuddered. Even the picture unnerved her as it still kept the piercing look as if the picture was glaring a disapproving look at Hinata. She quickly turned the page, only to see that the Uchiha entry simply continued on for several pages. Until she released the breath of anxiety she hadn't realised she was holding in and discovered the next entry, the 'Uzumaki' clan.

Unlike the other clans the clan portrait only had seven members. Each member had bright red hair, crimson like hot fire or blood. Hinata shuddered, like Kurama. In addition, they all showed a more unique personality. Each were leaning against each other and grinning from ear to ear. One woman had her arms wrapped around the necks of two men and smiling so hard her eyes were closed. Sticking from her mouth appeared to be some sort of metal needle. Behind her was another woman helpfully holding two fingers above the first's head as if she had 'bunny ears'. To the left of the group were two more men standing back to back. One was fiddling with his glasses by pushing it up his nose. While the other have half his face covered in long red hair. Laying on the floor was the last member of the Uzumaki clan, she was on her elbow in a 'draw me' pose but still 'shooting' at the camera with her fingers.

Hinata couldn't help but smile at their antics. Compared to the other clans, the Uzumaki were by far the wildest looking ones. She started to read about their passage. Talking about their original village, Uzushiogakaure and how they built up alongside Konoha despite being in two different locations. The political marriage between Mito Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju ensuring everlasting peace. The village sounded lovely as she read through the descriptions of wide open gardens and plazas with tower blocks and many colourful and creative buildings. Art was something well known to the Uzumaki clans and it showed in their aptitude for seals or 'fuuinjutsu'. Hinata had trouble understanding what fuuinjutsu. She could only guess it was something to do with art but as her lessons in younger life had only taught her what chakra was but not how to implement it in a practical way.

As she read on she quickly realised the fate of Uzushi, war. Not the same war that she had drilled into her head in the capital city. Not a war between genders but a war over land and status An older war that happened beforehand. Iwagakure and Kumogakure managed to isolate the village from Konoha and raze the entire island before any aid even knew about the attack. It was ruthless and brutal but still many citizens, Uzumaki and other minor clans alike, fought hard and it was written they managed the moral victory as both villages lost far too many resources in the combat. The members in the photo had arrived from Uzushi and decided to keep the clan alive in Konoha, Minus Mito and one other of course who already lived in the village.

Finishing up on the entry about what the newly settled clan did for the village a second sheet of paper fell from the book. It looked like the family tree. With Naruto at the bottom along with a crude drawing of a stick man with blond hair. Above his name was Kushina and Minato's names. Minato also had a blond stick figure by his name while Kushina had very long red hair on her stick figure. Up the left-hand side and keeping each generation in line was the Namikaze family, it was fairly narrow as each generation only had one son whom was paired up with a woman to take on the Namikaze name, with the exception of Naruto, whom was an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki line was far more colourful as there were many children that quickly filled up the available space on the page. So much so that many names were forgotten but clearly the number was remembered as the nameless people had a small mark instead of their name. There was one bottleneck, the majority of Naruto's great, great Aunts, Uncles, Cousins ended their lineage right there, allowing only Kushina's grandparents to continue the line. It was clear something happened four generations and Hinata could make a good guess what had happened. Another war, but this time the one she knew more about.

The only other additions where two names off to one side and not to the two trees. Tsunade, with the label 'grandmother' under her name. The second name, Jiraiya, with the name 'godfather'. There were in the same band as Naruto's grandparents which made it suggest they were some sort of a father or mother figure to Kunshina and Minato. Given the fact they were added to the tree and had relational names. Hinata smiled a little bit knowing that Naruto at least had a family. Her smile drew back into a frown as she looked down. It was evident that this book was many generations old so none of the people in her clan entry would indicate who she was related to. Hell, she Hardly knew her mother because she was too young when she was put into school. Back then she did not realise that she should savour the moment but alas it was too late. One thing she did learn though. Each entry to the family had a man, indicated by a less feminine name and a woman, indicated by having a more 'pretty' name. That related to something precious or beautiful and was often easier on the tongue if Hinata was to speak them out loud.

Here she saw several examples of a man, and a woman, with a line between the name and leading down to another name a generation younger. Particularly, in the generation before the war that ruined the world. some names were by themselves, male or female, they were a dead end to the lineage. The Hyuuga was taught that those who looked similar to you were likely sisters, hence why she knew Hanabi was her sister, she knew she had a mother too and everyone must have had a mother. However, this new information that suggested that a male was involved. It confused her because she was taught to unconditionally hate men as they were hateful creatures who only sought destruction. She saw the older members of new Konoha almost religiously remind themselves of this and the new arrivals every year would pick up on this and copied the elders example. Yet this book showed picture after picture of both genders getting along. Albeit she had not read any other entries which may reinforce the idea that man was as horrific as she was led to believe.

Hinata wanted to know, how could the world fall so far? She had been taught that the betrayal of men ultimately led to their destruction but was Orochimaru really justified? She knew the only people with this kind of knowledge were the elders. Perhaps Biwako could be trusted enough. She was the only elder who put Hinata's feelings into consideration while the rest just wanted more. In all honesty, she was the only elder Hinata could interact with without feeling so belittled. After carefully moving Akamaru off her lap she hid the books under her bed and collected a handful of stamps to bargain with and left her small house.

In the meantime, Sasuki and Kashina were in the forest searching the floor for anything worthwhile to take back. Well Sasuki was searching. Kashina was merely walking around avoiding trees and roots as she read her book.

"Are you going to put that thing down?"

"In a moment, this is a good bit."

"Come on what am I trying to find here?"

"Well it's autumn."

"So it is, what of it?"

"Well find autumn-y things."

"Like what? it's just the odd orange leaf."

"Well done."

"Why did I ask for your help again?"

"I'm your sensei." She sighed and dropped the book from in front of her masked face. "Doesn't mean I get to spell things out for you."

"Tsh." Was the only reply Sasuki gave. She scanned the forest floor as they appeared to be in a more densely packed part of the woods. Trees were close to each other and greenery seldom grew here. The wind had a small bite to Sasuki's skin as she gave a small shiver. How could anyone enjoy being out here? It all just trees. One after another only to be broken by a ruin of sorts, long since reclaimed. They had not trekked far from the entrance to the old Konoha but even in this small space they spent hours for very little gain. Her feet started to ache and her back was in pain from carrying her collection basket.

"Ah here we go, chestnuts." Kashina suddenly broke the silence that fell between them since Sasuki's outburst. The young woman was excited at finally finding something in this forest but such excitement was short lived. She looked at what Kashina was helpfully kicking with her foot at a small spikey green husk which had already been split in half and revealing the brown nut inside. "Once roasted these actually taste quite nice, especially with something like honey. They usually have last year's husks scattered around them, easy to spot. Well get going." Kashina ordered as she sat down to read, untying her basket. "You can fill mine too."

"These are just nuts though. How will anyone notice me?" Sasuki grumbled as she knelt down to pick up some of the fresher nuts.

"You know comparing yourself to others isn't healthy."

"I am supposed to prove I am better though, how will nuts help?"

Sensing she wasn't going to get out of answering this one. "Think about it. Apart from Hinata, pretty much no one else leaves the confines of old Konoha. I can guarantee the chestnut trees inside will have been picked clean already. So here is you coming back with a full bag every day. Do you see where I am going here."

"Psh still beneath me."

"Gotta start somewhere." Kashina closed her visible eye in an affectionate way towards her student. Feeding her ego was innocent enough. So long as it drove Sasuki onto working hard enough, the one-eyed woman would finally get some recognition for being a successful teacher.

Hinata took a deep breath, she had to knock on the large door that lead to where the elders rested. As this was outside the time they collected the produce off the village. The door was intentionally larger than most doors and the pit of dread quickly spread through Hinata's limbs. She never felt so alone starting in front of a door in the middle of the village. She was just about to knock when a voice from behind made her jump.

"Ah Hinata, what happened my dear? Is Anko with you?" It was Biwako, her hair tied into a tight bun and her hands were concealed in her sleeves. She was indicating the bandages wrapped around Hinata's head. Upon hearing that name Hinata gave a quiet sob and looked down to hide her tears.

"W-w-we f-fell int-to the river." She gave a lengthy sigh and spent a minute to compose herself. "S-sorry a woman m-must not show her g-greif in the presence of superiors."

Biwako waved her hand and replaced it in her sleeve. "That's quite alright, care to come in?" Hinata nodded at her request and followed the old woman inside. She was taken to the main assembly room where she was offered a seat opposite Biwako on the stage.

"It saddens me deeply at the loss of Anko." She gave a genuine sigh of remorse. "However, such is the risks involved with going outside the village. It is the main reason many wish to stay where it is safe, I mean look at you. two incidences in a week. May ask do you remember what happened?" Hinata shook her head.

"It's just all a b-blur." Hinata slumped down further.

"That must have been quite a knock on the head." A second voice came from the shadows. Her walking cane echoes throughout as Damariss stepped forward. "I hope this won't affect your performance. We are quite reliant on you venturing beyond the village"

"A minor setback I am sure Damariss, there is nothing to worry about."

"Aside from the lack of motivation in our citizens. Winter is coming and we need to collect-"

"Please, Not in front of Hinata." Biwako interrupted. The girl in question just looked between the two and looked confused as to what the bandaged elder meant.

"You've been avoiding this all day." Damariss snapped back, clearly with some spite in her words.

"Later. Damariss, don't forget I am still the leader."

"If only…" the newcomer muttered as she limped down and out of the assembly hall.

Biwako turned to Hinata who was busy making herself as invisible as possible in case the argument was suddenly redirected to her. The door now closed. Hinata stood up and bowed.

"S-sorry for taking you a-away from your duties, please, I would like new equipment and s-some metal l-like err copper, yeah, and s-some m-ore cloth and other things like that." She blurted out. Biwako looked at her confused, poor girl must have been worried Damariss was going to say something harsh.

"Very specific list." Biwako calmly said but raised her hand just before Hinata tried to explain herself. "It is quite alright I'll get you everything you need in a week's time." She scribbled sometime down on a note she retrieved from her pocket hidden away in her robes. "You know I am very pleased with you, although you've just started, Damariss was right, not many people are brave enough to venture out. It is a shame you have to do it alone." The venerable elder stood and gave the Hyuuga a comforting squeeze. Slowly she headed to the door to leave the girl alone in the room.

"Why do we hate men?" Hinata suddenly, and uncharacteristically blurted out. Biwako stopped in her tracks to think of a suitable answer. Silence quickly dripped between them.

"Dear child, after everything they did to this world, can you forgive them?" The elder left the room in silence. Hinata soon followed a minute later but she decided it was best to drop the topic rather than pry into it. If the sudden silence was anything to go by it was a sore topic even to Biwako. The air outside was crisp and hit her lungs hard as she took a deep breath in. She shook the budding headache away and walked to the direction of her home.

The women inhabiting the village were ever present and talking amongst each other. A person such as Hinata could walk by and disregard this as the typical noise of the village. Background static that reminded her there was people alive but ultimately blended into an untenable mix with the odd word coming into focus but devoid of context. This was the typical experience Hinata had as she walked through the central plaza but unlike every other time something different broke through the general buzz of Konoha. Perhaps because she was thinking about it or perhaps she really had never noticed this before.

Someone was shouting particularly loudly to the point their voice almost cracked. There were some key words that Hinata immediately picked up. Something about 'Monstrous sized men'. As if by some spell Hinata slowly wondered towards where the voice came from. It was one of the repurposed buildings from the original Konoha that inhabited the plaza before the colony was set up. A well build stone building that was supposed to be used for religious practice, although such notions of god were left behind as women concentrated on upholding values and for some that quickly became religious in of itself. Hinata had learned about religion and could understand devotion to higher powers but what the citizen had was devotion to vanity.

"Our god Jashin created these monsters in order to test our faith. Each death of man brought ones' soul closer to divinity." A very elegant woman in the prime of her youth stood across the room as Hinata cautiously entered the building, it was an easy achievement as the doors were left wide open as if they were inviting people to join. What was obvious from first observations were the long silver hair reaching down the back of a black cloak covered in red cloud symbols. Her hair was very well kept and even shone the light from nearby torches.

"In the times of enlightenment where Jashin blessed us with a plague. Not one of pestilence but one of cleansing. This miracle allowed woman kind to break free in the eyes of our Lord Jashin." The silver haired woman continued but Hinata had enough of the preaching. Sure, it was someone new, presumably a traveller, but the Hyuuga correctly guessed it was about the abuse of man. However, her stealthy exit did not go unnoticed.

"Young woman, does one deny the teachings of Jashin?" Hinata paused realising the woman directed her attention towards her. Fortunately said girl had an unlikely ally as another girl who she did not recognise spoke up.

"Ignore her she is weird." A general wave of agreement excused the Hyuuga. But not before the cloaked woman added more to her preach.

"Jashin accepts anyone willing to appease her, although she is very generous of her gifts. I noticed she has blessed you with pale eyes. If you listen to what I say perhaps you might be accepted as part of Jashins flock as she clearly intends for you to join."

Hinata bowed her head in embarrassment as she heard someone whisper 'her ugly eyes'. She sighed heavily and turned to bow at someone for the second time.

"E-excuse me but th-they are r-right. Please e-excuse me."

"It is a shame for Jashin has no place for those who shy away from their duty." She watched the girl walk away before addressing the rest of her audience, the more eager members of the village.

Meanwhile at Naruto's cottage. The door was instantly kicked in. If it wasn't for the fact Naruto had no need to lock the door unless he was asleep it would have snapped at the lock or worse, the hinges. A large man carrying an unconscious woman stepped inside.

"Brat! Get in here Now." The white-haired man carefully laid the woman onto the bed and carefully rearranged her so she could not choke. She was frothing at the mouth and breaking out in a hot sweat but still remained inanimate. A moment later Naruto burst into the room through the back door. He looked furious at first as if he was about to scream at the old man. However, he was instantly stunned into silence when he saw the fact that the old man in front of him was taking care of someone else. "Don't keep gawking do you still have honey venom?"

Honey venom was called as such because it was made from honey, as the main ingredient, but the important herbs were also added which gave the mixture the ability to destroy the venom if ingested or injected to the blood stream. Naruto instantly jumped towards a shelf in the corner of the kitchen side and retrieved a small wooden box. He knew better than to argue. Snake bites were common but were only deadly if left untreated. There were a few exceptions but as far as Naruto knew they lived in distant lands. She handed a small vial over to the man who immediately poured half on her wound.

"Hey, err Jiraiya, where did you find her?"

"Just up the river, I think she was bitten." He said grimly, deciding not to share who was responsible.

"Anko…" Naruto muttered.

"What?"

"I think her name is Anko, I saved her friend this morning. Although you missed her."

"Oh? What was she like? Beautiful?"

"Mn, she did not mind I was a guy, nothing like how you described how girls would normally react ya know?"

"A grand start there my boy. But was she a looker?"

"Pervert you know I wouldn't…" Naruto mumbled up before he sat on a nearby chair. "Where were you?" Jiraiya instantly dropped his grin when he saw a few tears drop from the blonds' face.

"I was."

"You said you'd be back."

"Yes but… you missed me that much?" Jiraiya looked confused at his godson's reaction.

"Mum, Dad… gone." He cuddled himself.

"You mean?"

Naruto nodded.

"Damn, I am sorry, I had no idea, really if I had known I'd be…"

"You're here now. I just wished ya know… It's been lonely." Naruto spoke no louder than a whisper but Jiraiya patted him on his shoulder.

"I remember how your father felt when he lost his dad. I'm no good with showing emotions or how to deal with them." He kneeled in front of Naruto. "He would have wanted to see you strong, get on with life and survive."

"Sounds more like what mum would say." He instinctively fumbled with the fox's tail.

"Heh, it's exactly what Kushina would say. Tell you what. Tell me all about this girl and I'll make some ramen for you, I'm nothing if I can't cook."

"What about her?" Naruto signalled at the purple haired woman. He had guessed she was as old as his mother if she was alive. Perhaps a little younger.

"I was afraid you'd bring her up so quickly." Jiraiya sighed. "If it was a normal snake bite she would be fine in a couple days but I fear it was a chakra based attack."

"Jutsu?" Naruto asked, he had heard about it from the numerous books he had read but to actually see the effects of it was a shock to the system.

"Yes, if you focus you can feel it wildly fluctuating throughout her body, like there is a storm brewing inside of her. Here, place your hands above her, like this, yes, now concentrate and feel it reacting to your skin. It should feel like a warm prickling sensation."

It took Naruto a while but he eventually felt something separate from the general heat radiating from her body, it was hardly noticeable at first but what he felt was like a wave of slight prickles rolling across his palm. As he was concentrating Jiraiya was telling him his fears.

"Now while the anti-venom is working we need to numb the chakra flow and allow her chakra to rebalance itself. Otherwise she will exhaust herself to death." Jiraiya explained in a very teacher-like manor. Aside from telling or writing stories, Jiraiya fancied himself as a teacher and would always give Naruto pointers when they were younger.

"Unfortunately, we are going to need two plants I know you won't have."

"Oh, then how are we going to save her? We can't just give up on her, can we?"

"Nothing of the sort. The first is fireweed which only grows in places that have experiences extreme heat. It's a bright red small flower which likes to grow up the side of walls in large patches. The second is deadly nightshade, a beautiful purple flower but it should be in berry form by now. You don't need much because they are toxic."

"So, if they aren't here then where will I need to go?"

"Konoha, the only place I know of in the area with a good chance for both of them." He said grimly. "You have a better chance to get near them than I do."

"I-isn't that where the colony… is?"

"If we search further afield we may not make it in time my boy." Both were silent but Naruto took a deep breath.

"So, I am looking for black berries likely untouched because they are poisonous and a red flower weed in places that have been burnt. I'll risk it."

"I know I've always told you to never go near that place but for the love of god and your parents, do not get caught. They will kill you." Jiraiya shuddered at the prospect but Naruto was much smaller, agile, and faster.


	8. Chapter VIII

**Ready for the next instalment? Did not expect this arc to be this long but I hope it's every bit that you wanted from me.**

 **I am about 1/3 through rewriting my other story as well. My current rant is why people always plonk Naruto into massive mansions when they write their fic. I get it, it's throwing the dog a bone. But Naruto is way too modest to really be happy with a huge house. And what would you do with all those rooms? Fantasy is one thing but I rarely enjoy the fics where Naruto gets a big ass house. I guess it's my dislike for over powered Naruto too, I much prefer the humble stories.**

 **I would like to announce my new Beta, Missrach, she is a good friend of mine and is helping improve my writing so it sounds a little more refined for you all. She it much more diligent at editing than I am so with a bit of luck I won't have to put off the dreaded editing. Anyway I do appreciate the help you provide.**

For once, Naruto was not keen on waking up. It was early, and the light was only just managing to illuminate his cottage enough to see all four walls. Fortunately, the bed was large, so all three people were able to have their own quarter and not have uncomfortable encounters during the night. Naruto could still remember fondly the warmth of cuddling into his parents at night. Opposite him and in the furthest corner, was the purple hair woman who showed no signs of moving. Naruto could imagine if he did not hurry, she may never wake up. Next to her, sort of far away and on the edge of the bed, was Jiraiya, who was already awake and sitting on the edge.

Naruto crawled and sat next to the shirtless man. He himself was wearing less, giving the impression that Jiraiya had more time to get ready. The younger blond adopted the exact same pose as his godfather.

"It's quiet without them, isn't it."

The last Uzumaki did not reply, but instead allowed the sheer silence answer for him. If there wasn't something to constantly do, there was no doubt Naruto would have gone mad. For now, not even the wind outside was heard and to them the world stood still.

"Keeping busy helped. I've always been repairing or making things."

"It's a good way to keep you occupied. You've read all the books yet?" Jiraiya motioned at the numerous bookcases around the house.

"Even yours. Though I preferred the Tale of a Gutsy Shinobi."

"You didn't say anything about not liking them."

"Shut it, pervert, that's not important."

"Oh?"

"Where did you go?"

"Heh, all over. From the great deserts, to the South West, to the islands in the North East."

"Woah, and it took you all this time to cover it all."

Jiraiya nodded and gave a short smile. "Although, it was very hard at times. Let's just say it doesn't get better anywhere else. I doubt we will be moving to anywhere better."

"Is that why?"

"Pretty much, kid. That new colony was going to be dangerous, and well… you've seen what happened to your parents."

Naruto took a deep breath and gave his best effort to show his Godfather a grin that could only belong to Naruto. Cheerful, but not quite sincere. Jiraiya could tell the loneliness got to him.

"Tell you what. Come spring, we can go together and get outta here."

The boy paused in contemplation. "What about all this? It's our home."

"You're right, but there are only two of us now."

They both sighed before Naruto spoke up. "I'll think about it some time. It's not like we are leaving before winter. But I should get going. I can see enough now to make my way over safely."

"Naturally, she's the priority." Jiraiya was both proud and saddened by how much the boy had matured; how much he was forced to mature. He easily had a logical head screwed tight, but this was an unforgiving world. Even if it was a mere flicker in his Godson's eyes, he could still notice the cracks.

Jiraiva lived in the very same world and was plagued by the very same misconceptions as Naruto. But, he was glad he could mature at a safe pace with friends and family, such has Naruto's grandparents and Tsunade. Jiraiya was born right after the majority of the men in the world were killed off by a disease. His and Naruto's family were considered lucky in that they were immune. But immunity only went so far after Orochimaru pretended to be part of his trio, Tsunade's Trio. The snake was able to conceal his identity and motives until it was far too late and only Naruto's parents were able to escape evil's grasp. This, of course, was before Naruto was even a twinkle in Minato's eye.

The old man bit his lip. He had accidently triggered a painful memory of Tsunade being taken away to the capital city. He did not doubt she was alive or even imprisoned. For a second, he just missed her.

"Hey, Pervy-sage? Nightshade, black berries, and Fireweed, red flowers yeah?"

The sage nodded, and Naruto gave him a thumbs up and grinned again. A subtly different grin, sincere.

"I'll be back before you know it!"

"I'll man the fort." The blond was already half dressed and began tying bags and blades to his person. He picked up a quiver full of arrows and shouldered it, strapping the straps tightly. He then reached down to pick up the stuffed fox's tail and carefully unrolled it. He looped the string through his belt and let it hang loosely. Last of all, he picked up his carefully crafted bow, and looped it over his shoulder. He liked it next to his quiver, but also easy to equip, should the need to arise. Without another word, Naruto left the white haired man along in the house.

The early morning was silent as there was no wind. Cold because of the night air, and overcast, because it was threatening to rain. Although the boy was well suited to the woodlands, he usually avoided being out this early as everything was still in grey-sale colour. He walked at a confident pace going in the right direction. However, as time passed he walked slower and more cautiously. Naruto never had actually been inside Konoha, and had no idea on what to expect. The air felt damp, and the ground was soft under his feet. Chances are it had already rained, but that did not exclude the possibility for more.

Coming into sight were the wedged-open doors to old Konoha, standing ominously above him and casting an oppressing shadow as he edged close to it. His eyes flashed to and fro to pick up any movements. A guard. A wonderer. An enemy. Seven breaths was all Naruto needed to decide to emerge from the treeline. He drew his bow and jogged lightly towards the grand entrance. This was one of those moments where something felt further away than he thought. Dangerously exposed, he launched himself to the cover of the massive door and peered through.

What he saw, while standard to its inheritance, was something he was not expecting. Ruins. Whole streets of empty shells and husks of the city it once was. All were standing grimly shouldering the burdens of time. There appeared to be no joy in this place, at least from first glance. Naruto hoped Hinata had a better life style here.

He took a deep breath as a gust of wind reminded him how cold and damp the air is. Calming down, he surmised that if the gate was unguarded, there would not be anyone here either. He was hoping that the women here were not that stupid. He walked towards the nearest building. A still standing corner shop had two floors in good condition, but the roof had collapsed on the third. Importantly, Naruto was able to spot a good way to get some height and walk along the building roofs instead of in the street. He gave the street a quick glance over before entering and quickly locating the stairs in the back. He took note that nothing else was in the building, as it was stripped completely of anything easy to find. Only thing left were the objects that were literally nailed down, like the counter and the shelves.

The wood smelled damp, but certainly usable if dried. Were they just using up what was easy to obtain first? Reaching the supposed third floor took only a little amount of clearing as Naruto lifted the bricks and tiles. He was fortunate that a thick layer of material was not covering it, as climbing out of the window and walking around a stone edge before going up was his original plan. This was far less obvious in case anyone was out there and spotted him.

Up on his vantage point, Naruto could see the city stretching before him. Albeit blocked by some taller buildings, there were plenty of abandoned garden areas and plazas which could have both plants in it. Frowning, he thought not many buildings looked like they were burnt before. Surveying for a moment longer Naruto decided to climb down to the first courtyard. A mess of grass and rubble with four trees in each corner now adopting the browns of autumn. He dropped down to the lower building next to him and kept a low crouching pose as he crept along the collapsing walls. Being careful of his steps, and he had to jump quickly when the floor he was walking on threatened to give way. There was a groan and a heavy snap, but in the end, nothing happened.

Leaping across a small gap and onto a lower building, he rolled as he landed, quickly dashing into cover. Almost at the courtyard. He listened, but aside from the scattering of some dust that was misplaced, the village was silent. Naruto was able to hear his throbbing heart thrashing wildly in his chest. Something was niggling at the back of his mind that he should relax, but his logical side wanted him to keep his guard up. He edged himself to where the building fell into a large pile of broken and overgrown bricks and lowered himself, cursing under his breath as he almost lost his footing. The moss was surprisingly slimy. Finally, on the firm ground, he was surrounded by dead buildings. Windows just staring blankly at him as if he was not invited here. His imagination was telling him that someone could be spying on him. He was feeling nervous from exposure and paranoid from visiting a relatively alien environment. He had seen ruins; the landscape was full of small hamlets and villages. But on this scale, it felt different and wrong and unnatural. There should be life here; the cheerful cries of children or the chatter of people living their lives.

Naruto got lucky. There were several bushes hugging the walls and many of them had black and untouched barriers of the deadly nightshade. He knew he only needed one, but taking a couple couldn't hurt anyone. He quickly picked the berries and stashed them away in his pouch. Running to the other side, he was able to enter another building to continue his search. He could not find anywhere accessible, because the fire had burned it fiercely before.

Hinata just got back into her small house after meeting with Biwako again in the morning. She managed to get a few new things, such as blankets and a basket to go out and collect. She even managed to get a map and pencil again and was told to write down what she remembered. The shy Hyuuga was fortunate in that she still technically had her old maps even though the water from the river ruined them. Still, she was able to write down useful gathering spots, one of them unbeknownst to her, had Sasuki collecting there. She was drawing careful lines to indicate the rivers she passed, trying her best to remember where that high lake was. Though the feeling something evil was there could not escape her, the detail of who or what it was did. The girl sighed, and looked out of the small window allowing light through. The day was so dark that she needed to light a candle just to see her work clearly. The strikes of rain had lashed at the window. It was not heavy, but persistent, and somehow made everything feel colder and more isolated.

Meanwhile Naruto was inwardly cursing himself. Each time he looked, he confirmed that there was only one building that looked burnt enough, and it was directly in the middle of the city. It was a large blackened tower with the top floor still using glass. In a few areas, it had undergone some extensive repairs to make the building habitable again. That, to Naruto, was the main issue. If he wanted to save that woman, he would have to go into perhaps the most dangerous place to him in the world.

To most men, they would have called it there and then. One wrong move and it was a fate worse than death. Even if he was able to escape, he would be hunted forever more. However, Naruto was not most men. He grew up with a strong sense of honour and duty and he would do both to save a stranger, just as he had saved Hinata twice. He peered across the street, close enough to see a second wall that surrounded the colony. A movement of something caught his eye and he immediately ducked.

"Shit, I've taken too long." He whispered under his breath as he cautiously looked back over the wall. Sure enough there was a small group of girls grumbling about the weather. Some were holding blankets above their head to keep dry. Although not raining hard, the blond still was starting to get soaked; his hair and his fur matted flat from the water. Naruto noticed they wore mainly white kimonos, but one wore a blue one with green vine patters. It was quite impractical looking, but Naruto honestly had no idea on the subject, as Kushina never wore anything so elegant either. Perhaps a cultural thing, he mused as he waited for the group to pass.

He quickly loaded an arrow to his bow and left the safety of his hiding spot and crossed the road. He needed to get up high again. Climbing up the interior of the building was a slow process. He had once more made double sure he was alone before advancing. Reaching the top, he carefully maneuvered from roof to roof, until he was above the wall. Softly as he could, he landed on a balcony and looked across at the mess that was called a building. He was eye level with a poorly constructed balcony clearly made with whatever wooden pieces available. The roof was low and many tiles were broken, only to be replaced with some sort of fabric. Many tiles were red in colour, but there were a few grey or blue ones depending on what was found. The walls were wooden up here, although brick was used lower down. Some rooms were only supported by a couple thick beams from what he could see. The buildings in front were either entirely connected, or had a small passageway in between them. However, the design actually worked against Naruto because now he faced several different jumps and windows, vantage points, balconies, rooftop 'gardens' and a wide-open plaza space which he would have to go around instead of dashing through. He could already see a lot of women, and he got the feeling, given another time and place, Jiraiya would have loved it here.

Nearby, he could see a guarded gateway that made slipping in impossible. Naruto looked down and saw the fence was climbable, but he'd have to give up his height advantage. Nearby, splashing in a puddle and some loud chatter forced the blond to duck. Perhaps using rope might be the best option. He laid down his bow and grabbed some rope he had tied to his belt. Rope being a seriously useful tool, he tied it to the back of his arrow. The rope would ruin the dynamics of the shot but fortunately he only had a small gap to shoot. Also, the bow was heavy enough, he was sure he could pierce the wood. The only issue would be the noise he was about to make.

Biting his lip, he picked up the bow and loaded it. With his impressive strength, the blond pulled back the string right to his sapphire coloured eyes. He released the arrow and heard a dull 'thunk'. The noise was cringe worthy as he physically winced and waited for someone to notice. Taking a deep breath, he quickly tied his end of the rope to something sturdy; the door frame worked well enough. He yanked the rope. After he was satisfied of its strength, he grappled tightly and carefully inched himself off the balcony.

Once across, Naruto swung his legs and managed to climb to the other side. He thanked whatever god that no one noticed. Although, he did wonder what kind of living they must have if a loud notice like that didn't alert anyone. He decided it was best to leave an escape route, and so continued on his mission, albeit, at an extremely cautious rate.

Another hour passed by and Naruto was half way around to the large burnt-out tower. The rain persisted, and even some small streams flowed in a few gutters where they collected. The blond had reached a particularly steep roof and it was taking a lot of effort to crawl up the slated side. He was laying low to spread his weight and keep as much contact with the stone as he could, silently praying that the slate was well made. Below he could hear some chanting, but the rain was loud enough to thankfully drown out whatever was being said there. The last thing he needed was a distraction. He reached forward with his soaked hand. It was giving him a dull ache and was largely numb from the cold. At last he reached the top of the roof and was able to pull himself up. Saddling the ridge of the roof. He whipped the rain from his eyes, although with such a wet sleeve the action was out of habit rather than for any results.

Naruto carefully inched towards his target and it was at that point where his luck ran out. Not being used to the revers angle he accidently slipped. Grabbing the ridge with a little too much force he broke the top pieces of slate. Once thing lead to another and the entire slope of tiles started to slide off the edge with Naruto being taken for the ride. Below he heard a scram and a 'look out'. It took all his might and reflexes to pull out a knife and stab the roof as hard as he could. The blade bit through the slate and dug into a wooden beam below. He hissed in pain as his arm was tugged violently taking on his whole weight.

He swung his other arm up and pulled himself into the rafters. This time the noise had attracted quite a bit of attention if the sudden chatter was anything to do with what just happened. Naruto breathed and thought he had a lucky break. However, he took one step and his foot went straight through the wooden timber. The fall painfully scratched his flesh up his leg and the force snapped the rest of the floor planks instead of helping him. With a yelp, he fell straight down into the large room below.

His vision was blurred as he looked around. He was only knocked out for a split second before coming through. It was fast enough to see the surprised gasps from the crowed surrounding him. To his left and to his right were pews filled with only women. Looking up, he saw a silver haired woman in black robes standing above him.

"Praise Jashin for this gift we have all received." He rushed to her scythe. With a surprisingly gleeful cry in excitement, she jumped from what looked like a white clothed alter. Naruto immediately focused on what was important. The scythe. He rolled to one side and felt the air from all three blades blow past him. He grabbed his knife and jumped back from a side sweep from the tri-bladed scythe. The woman meanwhile was laughing wildly at the thought of slicing him in half, as bloodlust came naturally to her.

Naruto was forced to duck under a younger girl who took initiative and jumped on him. He put away his knife and drew his bow. In a split second, he released an arrow and the tip buried itself deep into her thigh. Initially, not a fatal wound, but slowed her down. Naruto had no time to breathe as he elbowed another woman. Being very strong meant he knocked the girl off her feet. Upon hearing the laughter mixed in with screaming for the cloaked woman, he thought it best to get out, and fast.

"Get that monster. We can't let him get away." The scythed woman called out and snapped everyone from their stupor. "Find him and drag him back here so Jashin can hear his screams."

Naruto ran for the door. He had definitely stayed longer than he wanted to, and had to dodge a couple more women who were now arming themselves. He burst out of the double doors and almost slipped over when he was immediately stopped in his tracks. The courtyard was full of women who were curious over the commotion. Several of the younger ones clearly had not put two and two together. After all, they had technically never seen what a man looked like. Naruto gulped and looked around terrified. He was strong, but he also shared many of the shortcomings when it came to the knowledge of the other gender. Like them, he was told that they were dangerous and his list of good women was limited to four, five if the stranger at his home takes it well that she was healed by them.

A ricochet of a metallic bolt bounced off the stone next to him.

"Get that demon! He means to harm us." Naruto immediately reacted by running off down one of the narrow passages. He burst through a door and was deafened by loud screaming. He waved his arms in a placid manner before running up some steps to the second floor, finding a suitable balcony to climb up the side of the building. He made short work of the climb. Looking back at the tower then over the rest of the city, Naruto was faced with a choice.

"God fucking damn it. Fine." He turned to the Hokage's tower and leaped over the top of the small path he entered moments ago. Several more bolts whizzed past him. Over to his right a door opened, and a few women came charging out. Naruto released an arrow at their feet. While it scared one back into cover as Naruto hoped, the other one just shouted her determinations.

Now every woman was busy trying to catch the supposed 'demon' who was currently managing to keep ahead of the mob. He ducked and weaved between attacks. Every woman, save one; a certain white eyed girl who was standing in stunned silence.

"I-i-is that N-Naruto?!" She whispered quietly so no one would hear her. She was fidgeting and thinking things over and over. Should she move? Join them? Save him? He saved her. He had stepped up to the challenge and never asked for anything in return. Her eyes widened and her legs willed themselves to move. She could see a certain red-head approaching Naruto. She had to do something.

The blond was doing fine. So long as he did not slip up on the rain soaked roof, he could manage the odd woman who was challenging him. He ran at full pelt, and catapulted himself across another gap onto a balcony of sorts. He landed and rolled, but only to be caught into the stomach by someone's fist. Unlike most others who tried to either weigh him down or stab him with a knife, this one had the strength to knock all the air from his lungs. This was followed by a heavy punch to the face, which caused him to step back and notice his attacker.

"Wow, most people I punch that hard usually end up through a wall."

The woman, having the height somewhere between Hinata and Naruto, looked at the blond with interest. Her red hair whipped around her face as she raised her fists. She could not understand it, but she suddenly felt the urge to like this male, despite everything she knew. Of course, she hated the man, but her body could not decide whether to fight him and subdue him, or fight him for fun and let him go. Naruto on the other hand desired to run; very fast. He held his knife in a reverse hold to help defend himself from her many blades. Superficial cuts mixed with the rain ran down most of his exposed flesh.

"This is going to be fun." Kurama spoke with a widening grin which worked to unnerve Naruto. He gulped and inched to make a move before she stopped him. "Now would you attack an unarmed woman?" She mocked a softer voice.

Naruto nodded and hid his blade into a scabbard, having accidently lost one already. He then was forced to block an incoming punch to his face. He was sure she managed to bruise his forearm on impact. Was that a gasp of joy he heard? He had to retaliate, otherwise she would stall him too much. Figuring she would be fine, he punched her in the jaw with his left fist. Then, he jabbed her in the stomach with his right, and watched as she doubled over in pain.

Kurama whipped a small trickle of blood from her burst lip and could feel her heart pounding like never before. She felt a rush and she loved it. She even let slip a little giggle over the dull ache from her jaw and stomach. The redhead suddenly punched at Naruto again, who caught her wrist and pulled her off balance to sweep her off her feet, painfully, to the wooden floor. The whiskered blond did not stick around to witness the fallout, and jumped over the woman before she could do anything to block him.

"Wait!" she cried out, stretching her hand as if it was the last time she would see him. She couldn't understand this. She felt he hurt her more when he left than knocking her to the floor. Naruto paused and looked over his shoulder before having to dodge another fist. This time there was no impact onto the blond, as he just knocked her out in one fell swoop with his hand, to the back of her neck.

He climbed down from the balcony to a lower roof, and he was gone. Her breath hitched, but Kurama suddenly picked up her smile once more. God, he is strong. Thinking of him, but making no effort to get up and pursue him, she just curled up and pictured those sapphire eyes.

Said man managed find a suitable hiding spot. Despite having a couple hundred women chasing him, they were fairly easy to lose in the mess they lived in. He was tired, and his body burned from sustained injuries. He dared not to move. His body was fighting him every second to take large gulps of air and rest for a while. He could hear someone near where he was hiding. In a small convenient crevasse with an overlapped wall, it was giving Naruto the perfect place for obscurity. He was able to squeeze himself past some kind of rubble of bricks he supposed was kept as storage. He could hear the loud crashes of someone feverishly knocking everything over in hopes of finding her target. All he could hear was, where is he, over and over again as they were in pursuit.

A single noise from Naruto and he was sure she'd descend upon him like some vicious beast in the forest.

"Ew, so ugly. Why are you even here? Never mind, I must hurry." The woman stopped and spoke to someone. Naruto strained his ears to hear what she was saying. "Urgh! I can't find it with you here, it's distracting." He heard someone call for order somewhere towards the plaza, and subsequently the woman ran out with a loud annoyed, 'huff'. Naruto dared not to move. For all he knew, that girl was just replaced by someone she did not like and was still present, just quieter.

"N- Naruto?" Upon hearing this, he froze up and a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Shit, he thought, and then realized. 'Wait.'

"Hinata?" He whispered. "How did you find me?"

"M-my eyes. Listen, I have to go and you have to get out of here. Look, turn right towards the wall. Find a way over it and right again. You should see the west gateway. Look for a small shack, and it should have a dog."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Thank you… seriously. I thought they were gonna' catch me." He started to emerge towards her from his hiding spot.

"Eeep." He stopped again upon Hinata's voice. "N-no d-d-don't. I'm u-ugly."

"I don't believe that."

She looked down as her cheeks started to burn. "Y-you don't to be s-so nice."

Naruto furrowed his brow, was this what other people saw in her? However, something about that look made him reach for her.

"Hey." An invisible force pulled his hand to her face, he hesitated, but eventually touched her cool cheek. His hand was icy cold from the rain but hers by comparison felt red hot. The blond not understand why he felt the need to see her smile. "You're beautiful."

Hinata was wide eyed and an even deeper blush took hold of her. She stepped away.

"Yy-y-you s-should go n-now."

"Right, I'll see you soon."


	9. Chapter IX

**The next instalment to my story. Pleased to announce I am half way through rewriting my other fiction so it won't be long until I can start posting new chapters and get it finished. As for this story... nae idea how long it'll go on for but I have the current story arcs thought out.**

 **Thanks to Mrs Rach for helping correct my mistakes, I know I sucked but I am still improving.**

 **QueenDeadPool: Cheers, I hope I meet expectations.**

 **Willson18: Cheers for that.**

 **NarHina: Hope you're enjoying the pace and I am not messing up their relationships. FYI it is still a Nar/Hin story. Just it's no fun if there aren't any spanners in the works.**

Boredom was the key word for Sasuki. Little did she realise the events going on in the village. She just sat in a small run-down shack, which managed to survive against the elements. Across the room was one sleeping Kashina. The masked woman cuddled into her precious book, and quietly rolled over and enjoying some dream she currently was having. Sasuki sighed and tried to get back to sleep. They were not going to start going home anytime soon. The pitter patter of the rain on the roof proved to be soothing to the moody teenager, although she would never admit it had any effect on her. Perhaps she could stay away and listen to the rain.

"Uchiha…" A whisper so faint it could have easy been the wind, or a branch off some old tree creaking in such a way. The word meant little to Sasuki, but she shivered unconsciously, and could feel the room cooling down further than it already was. Sasuki cuddled into her blanket to extract and preserve as much heat as possible.

Her heart started to race. She opened her eyes, and much to her surprise she could see ice. As she gazed at the walls, she watched each ice shard grow right before her very eyes. She let out a heavy breath. The steam cloud was thick, and faded away in front of her. Frozen in horror, her eyes followed as the ice quickly left the walls and creeped along the floor right towards her. Sasuki tried to play it cool, but quickly started to shift away from the ice. Her cautious movements quickly became a frantic scramble to get up.

"Kashina! Wake up!" She snapped, having noticed her teacher was still sleeping as the ice approached her.

Sasuki woke up with a start. She was back on the floor and whipping her eyes around wildly for any sign of that ice. After a minute, she concluded it was just a bad dream. She brushed the cold sweat off her face, taking a deep breath and calming her racing heart. Being scared was a sign of weakness, something beneath her, reserved for the likes of Hinata. She froze once more. There was that sound again. It felt like it was laughing and mocking her.

"That was not a dream, little girl. Come outside."

She wanted Kashina to wake up at this moment, and say some of her vague wisdom to get her out of this situation. Sasuki gulped down her fear. It was a sensation of not wanting to obey, but having no choice in the matter, as her body got up and walked on its own accord.

The morning was dreary as expected, with the soaked birches all around her. She could hear the rain on the leaves, and the nearby ruins. She felt the heavy raindrops strike her hair and shoulders. The rain was cold, but nowhere near frozen much to her relief. Apart from the scene around her, Sasuki quickly found herself alone. Expecting someone to be standing there, but instead finding no one.

She walked on, looking around and trying to find who owned that voice. Suddenly, something happened. What started like pins and needles pricking every inch of her skin, instantly turned to her being aware of someone coming. Sasuki was immediately tackled and forcibly thrown against the trunk of the tree. A left hand grabbed her by the neck, while a right hand drove a knife millimeters away from her neck, striking deep into the tree behind her.

The teenager gazed wide eyed at her attacker. Stray strands of damp hair clung to her face, the unmistakable gaze of her red eyes giving away exactly who she was to her attacker. This woman, who was only four inches away from Sasuki's face, had sickly-pale skin, as if she was ill or had been frozen. A wide grin plastered to her face, and limp lochs of hair whipped lazily over her shoulders. The woman was considerably taller, and had an air of power. In fact, during the encounter, the prickly sensation never faded.

"My my, Uchiha, no matter how many times I have seen that look, the Sharingan always manages to make it beautiful. All that emotion concentrated into piercing blood red eyes." The woman took her grip off of her knife, and brushed the strands of hair off Sasuki's face, never once loosening her grip on her neck.

"Heh… s-so you lost your w-weapon. Well, I s-still have m-mine." Sasuki struggled, but managed to speak with great effort, while still being choked. She glanced down at her own right hand. In it was her own knife, and it was poised to sink into the abdomen of her attacker. The girl smirked, but that was short lived. Laughter came from behind her. A cruel and boastful laugh. Sasuki looked up to meet face to face with the head of a large snake, causing the poor girl to drop her knife in fright.

"I'm only having a bit of fun, Uchiha." The woman managed to make the word 'fun' sound disgusting with her sickly voice.

Sasuki gasped for breath before turning to face the woman, recovering the rest of her pride in a façade of bravery. "Why are you calling me Uchiha? That is not my name."

"Oh? But, it is Sasuki." Her name caused the young Uchiha to step back.

"W-what do you want?" No reply. "Answer me." Another wait, several minutes passed of both women staring at each other.

"Impatient, aren't we?" She finally spoke. The woman calmly walked to where her weapon was deep in the tree, and pulled it out, as if the blade was stuck in mud or something far softer than wood. A shower of splinters rained out of the wound she inflicted. With a heavy groan, the tree gave into the injury and slowly began to fall, lopsided. A loud crack signaled the death of the tree, and the trunk fell freely to the floor behind the pale woman.

"You have many questions, I have many answers."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I can make you powerful." She drew out that word as if the mere mention gave her pleasure. "I know it's what you want, isn't it? I've been watching you." She smirked at the teenager. "Scrambling around in the dirt doesn't suit an Uchiha."

"It's work for someone less than me."

"Exactly, you are speaking my language, but…"

"But, what?"

"There is this girl… Hinata, I believe. Her sisters won't do. I need her."

Sasuki sighed heavily. "Why the fuck does it have to be her? She does not deserve anyone's attention! Forget her! Use me! She's spineless, cowardly, and never ever puts up a fight, or uses her position to her own benefit. I could do so. Much. More. If I were in her shoes. Undeserving bitch."

The woman just smirked at her outburst. "Oh, but you are right. You see she has a secret. A secret no one but I know.

"What is it?" Sasuki interrupted, all feelings of fear were now feelings of anger and annoyance.

"No, I am not to answer these questions. Find out her secret and do something about it. Then come to me knowing you are worth my time, and you know the right questions to ask. Only then… I'll help you become powerful." The woman turned to walk away into the forest. Sasuki wanted to ask her more, but she bit her tongue. Her attacker was generous enough to provide herself with enough to make a start. This was more fitting for Sasuki, and for the first time, she felt she could earn her power destined for her.

* * *

"Alright, ladies! What on earth is going on? I demand to know!" Biwako's voice boomed around the central plaza. She rarely showed her anger, but this was one of the few times she had to step in whatever was going on in her village. There were a few fires burning in a couple of the buildings. Walls had collapsed and some doors were smashed to pieces. Many of the girls were injured. Albeit, most were minor, but those who encountered Naruto had suffered more and were currently being taken care of by one side of the plaza. Everyone was frozen where they stood and looked up at their leader. No one dared to interrupt.

The cloaked woman from the church limped up to Biwako's side. Her cloak was open to reveal she only had a few wraps of cloth to protect her modesty. With her left hand, she was clutching her left flank, which was a dark muddy red from all the blood. To a keen eye, you could see her subtly squeeze her injury, and sigh happily over the pain that washed over her.

"What is it, Hydi?" Biwako snapped. She was preparing herself for some ritualised speech that seemed to be a part of her religion.

"Oh, it was wonderful. Our lady Jashin blessed us with a man to test us with."

"A man?"

"A strong one at that, I could feel how evil he was and look! I bare the wounds and I bare Jashin's glorious blessings!" She gave a snigger and turned to the crowed. "Sisters, we owe it to our lady. Bring me the beast head!"

"No. You are not to preach in public. That was our agreement. Hate is still hate. If what you said was true, then you are to bring him to the elder council!"

"Are you sure that is wise?" Damariss sent her sly remark. "That thing is stronger than us, and poses a threat."

"Undermine my decisions one more time. I am not in the mood for your sharp tongue."

"On the contrary, I would prefer it if he was captured. Not only will we get a lot of renown from the capital city, but we can find out what he knows of the area. Of others. And his motives."

"But, the welfare of our girls is paramount." Another councilwoman stepped forward.

"Yes, yes. It's all well and good, but it's the will of Jashin. A call that transcends your authority. She gifted us with a hunt, and a hunt we shall have!" Hydi continued. She had her attention on the girls who visited her preachings. Much to Biwako's bewilderment, the Akatsuki member managed to get a battle cry out of many of the girls.

"We are women of this nation, not some cult. We do things the proper way. The right way." The elder rebutted. She was looking at the girls whom were mainly of the younger generation, and shook her head. She could see what that insane woman was doing, but could not outright refuse a member of the Akatsuki to do as they please. "Everyone get into groups, organise a proper search for this man. Someone also put out those fires before they become too big to control. We are to do this properly. Understand?"

The entire village immediately broke off into two groups. It was the first time Biwako realised that there were clearly two ways of thinking. She bit her lip. She hated to admit it, but Damariss was about to become useful to her. Being the leader to the village had its perks and she knew who supported the Akatsuki. To Damariss, that organisation was a danger to the village, and so would always be against them, despite not being helpful with most things.

Amongst the divide, a few girls would glance to either side. To the left, there was boasting about killing the man, for glory or religion, because he was different. To the right, were women who obeyed the command of the elders, and were generally more pleasant, so the undecided chose this group over the prior. Hinata looked around and sighed as she did not know what to do. She had helped Naruto thus far, but he was still in danger just by being near them. A slap on her shoulder took her out of her worried face.

"It's been a while. How have you been?" A friendly voice known to Hinata as Kanna.

"You seem frightened? Why? Were you attacked?" Chiho added. Hinata shook her head.

"E-everyone seems s-so angry. I-I can feel it."

"Not surprised. This is the first time a male had been sighted. It's the first time for a man to even be inside the village. Why do you think he's here, Chiho?"

"I have no idea." She spoke in a flat tone, as if closing any hope of a theory from Kanna.

"Well, he certainly kicked up a hornet's nest. When I first heard he was here, a couple girls burst into our home like they were sniffer dogs."

"They were almost as weird as the rest of you." Sai helpfully added. She had just arrived at the small group. Kanna just gave a heavy sigh in response.

"H-h-hey, have you seen Sasuki?" A pink haired teenager approached now. Hair of that colour could only belong to Sakura, but by the look on her face, she appeared lost. She had left Kurama, as she was fuming at a few older women who were acting as guards currently to keep the peace. It was clear that the red head wanted to go out alone and not in a group. Sakura cringed slightly, as it was obvious that the angered woman just punched the two 'guards' square in the jaw, and walked over towards her fuming.

"You found Sasuki yet?"

"N-no."

"Then what are you… Actually… You lot come with me. We are making a group."

"Do we have a choice?" Kanna asked out loud, somewhat too loud as the red head turned on her, and snapped.

"They said I had to be in a group. I could just drag your sorry ass by a rope."

"Alright, alright. Geez."

"Hey Kanna, you might be more useful being a heavy weight, you know."

"Are you going to ever drop the insults?" came Kanna's reply.

"Its what friends do."

"For the millionth-time, friends don't insult each other!"

"Can you both shut up! Let's go. I want to sink my teeth into that man!" Kurama proudly announced, and then immediately blushed. No one noticed the hidden undertone, but the girl thought of something unusual and decided to shake her head clear of it. She wanted to beat him.

"Yosh, the flames of youth burn brightly in this group!" Leann suddenly jumped right into the middle of everyone. Hanabi and Tenten were close behind, although not as enthusiastic as Leann. With this dynamic, the group started to shuffle out of the village center. Hinata remained obviously lagging. She was looking nervous, and pressing her forefingers together.

"Yo. Hinata, are you okay?" Leann loudly called out to her, and made others turn to look at the Hyuuga, just in time to see her jump.

"I… err um n-need t-to go err h-h-home." She could feel Kurama's eyes roll, but she knew that in the grand scheme of things she did not care either way.

"Wait. I'll come with." Kanna asked.

"Umm, it's er, f-fine. I'll come straight ba… er back." The Hyuuga blushed, bowed and then shuffled away from the group. Her shuffling quickly turned to running.

"How weird." Sai helpfully commented.

"Not now Sai, I'll go after her. With that thing going around, it's dangerous." Kanna called out and was away before anyone nodded.

* * *

Naruto had managed to find his way to a small shack. It was the only building with an intact door, so he guessed to enter it. He cautiously looked around for anyone, somewhat glad they were all called to some sort of assembly. Naruto had enough of running for one day. His body ached from running and falling. Cuts and bruises covered his body, and the fur attire he had worn was slashed to ribbons. Approaching the crude door, the blond reached for the handle and realised he was shaking. Taking a deep breath, he gripped onto his shaking wrist to steady himself.

Inside, Akamaru was getting excited, the small puppy had missed Kanna. She started to get held up by Sai, whom she did not trust. Therefore, Akamaru did not trust either. His tail wagged, and he started panting right until a tall strange figure entered the building. Akamaru instantly turned to the defensive, and gave a low growl. Naruto meanwhile just quietly closed the door, and jumped as soon as Akamaru gave a warning bark.

"Hey, little guy. Don't scare me like that."

Akamaru tilted his head and looked curiously at the creature. It looked similar to a blond he saw in the village, but was definitely a different shape. Tall, broad shoulders, covered in fur, and apparently injured. It wasn't well liked as his other master, Hinata, who also came in with injuries. The creature approached Akamaru, and leaned down to pet the dog.

"Good boy, or girl? Boy." Naruto spoke, and seemed to understand the subtle gestures Akamaru gave. The white puppy in turn nuzzled into Naruto's hand, and gave him a friendly lick. "So, I guess I wait here for your owner." Naruto sat down on the bed and quickly wrapped himself in the blankets left there. They smelt strongly of dog, but the blond did not mind. It was dry and warm, which were two things he needed right now. It was not long until the shivers really started to kick in, and his teeth started to chatter. Akamaru decided he could help by curling up on his lap.

After a few minutes the door burst open, and Hinata slipped inside. She was flustered and red in the face, having ran across the colony to reach her house. She took a few deep breaths and turned to the shivering blond wrapped up in blankets.

"N-not that it's not nice t-to see you… b-but it's dangerous for you here. If they caught you-you w-w-w be…" She took another deep breath and swallowed hard, she whispered the next word. "E-executed." Hinata had managed to plan on saying this much as she arrived, but once she had run out of things to say, she stood still for a while before her eyes widened. "Y-you're hurt!" The Hyuuga started to rummage around for clean cloth and started to whip the cuts up his arms clean, almost as if she was on auto pilot.

Naruto was just as stunned. He was not sure what to say at this point, but he relaxed once Hinata started to help him. She was gentile and clearly not mad at him for coming. Or invading her home.

"S-sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to make you worried. Didn't figure it was this bad. I was needing something that can only be found here."

"W-why would you risk c-coming here?" She stood back as she realised that she was only about four inches away from Naruto's face. When he spoke, she was reminded of his sapphire eyes. They were full of fear for once, as he knew full well he did not belong here. Yet her heart skipped suddenly, and she blushed brightly, remembering his comment earlier. Several thoughts flashed through her at the same time. Was he still thinking of her? Was it even appropriate for her to think like this? "S-sorry."

Naruto blinked. "You didn't hurt me." He sighed, and stroked Akamaru along his fur. "My grandfather found someone else. Purple hair, fishnet clothes, tall, like an adult?"

"Anko?" Hinata gasped, and raised her hands to cover her mouth. "I-is she ok?"

"Yes and no. She's alive, but been bitten by a snake, ya know?"

"S-so, you're needing s-something from the village t-to heal h-her?"

"Fireweed. Have you seen any? It's a small red flower that only grows where there has been intense fire."

"I-I'm sure I can find some for you." Just then Akamaru's ear raised a bit and he gave a warning bark. Hinata was able to dive at the door just in time for Kanna to open it half way. The handle on Hinata's side painfully hit her on the hip bone, and she gave a pained grunt. Naruto, who was also aware, shuffled to one corner, so he couldn't be seen by the door.

"Hinata, it's just me. Let me in."

"K-Kanna. I, err, was just leaving."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to see Akamaru. Sorry for making it look like I was prying into your business."

"S-Sai giving you a h-hard time?" Her voice was now much softer as she relaxed. "Akamaru, Kanna is here to see you." Akamaru came to the door.

"No. Ah. People are still around. Just let me in." Hinata nervously looked around, and mouthed 'I can't' to Naruto. She relaxed her grip on the door, and immediately started repeating the word 'sorry' over and over. At first, Kanna was confused, as she had never seen Hinata so fearful. Then, she put two and two together, and noticed the other figure in the room.

"Get back, Hinata. Go get help. That thing is dangerous."

"No-N-N-O-No! Please! K-k-kanna. J-just listen." Kanna already had her dagger drawn and lunged at Naruto. Hinata tried to grab Kanna, but she was stronger. The Hyuuga closed her eyes tightly, and refused to see what was about to happen. However, it was Akamaru who quickly jumped up and bit Kanna on her hand, before he gracefully leaped off and landed by Naruto's side.

"Kanna! Please! Don't! He saved my life twice." Hinata blushed as the words finally sunk into Kanna skull. She stood back and dropped her knife with a 'o' silently leaving her lips. Hinata gave a sniffle, and quickly wiped away her tears. "He is not a beast or a monster. He always treats me better than anyone I know."

"Please don't tell anyone about me." Naruto finally spoke, his voice crackled by accident. Of course, he was not planning to attack, but was not willing to just allow her to kill him. "It was my fault for being caught in the first place."

"I-if Akamaru accepts you, then it's good enough for me. But, why are you coming here? If I were you, I'd be running away as fast as I could."

"H-he was t-trying to save Anko." Kanna noted how Hinata was already wiping another cut on his shoulder, and bandaging other cuts up. She never saw Hinata care for someone else this much, either. She sighed.

"I'm probably going to regret this. I trust you, Hinata. You've never lied to me before. I doubt you will do now. Can I help with anything?"

"I was looking for fireweed. I guess it is a little dangerous to get anywhere near that big tower thing."

"Little dangerous? You were shot at." Kanna pointed out in a flat, flicking her wrist to emphasize her point. Silence entered the room before Hinata could break the tension.

"Umm, K-Kanna could you k-keep people distracted. I-I'll get the p-plant. Naruto, y-you should leave b-before t-tthey catch you."

"Probably best." Naruto admitted. "You remember where I live?" Hinata nodded, and blushed as she gave Kanna a sideways look. She was surprised, and still trying to comprehend that Hinata, the shyest girl she knew, was this close to what she thought was a violent, thoughtless beast. Kanna nodded.

"I'll be back later for Akamaru." She silently picked up her blade, and slunk out of Hinata's room. She carefully closed the door with a soft click of the latch. Kanna turned out onto the street and sighed heavily, trying to control her sudden shakes. "I trust Hinata and Akamaru. I trust Hinata and Akamaru." She muttered under her breath, and slowly walked across the city.

"I should probably go. Please hurry with those flowers. Anko will need them."

"D-don't worry. I won't l-let you down." Hinata smiled and stared at the boy for a little longer than she should. Fortunately, he smiled back and slowly got up to leave, taking a deep breath and mentally preparing himself to get away without being found. Creeping out of the door slowly, he turned to look at Hinata one last time. Her pearl-like eyes locked on him, and she brushed her hair back before blushing and waving goodbye. It took five minutes before Hinata noticed that Naruto had left his bow. With a quiet 'eep', she snatched the carved wooden shaft, and left her home in hopes to catch up to Naruto. Hinata was lucky as the boy had not made it far, and with help of her Byakugan she found him once more hiding in the rubble of the many old buildings.

"N-Naruto. There you are."

"Hinata? Wow, you know how to find me easily. Hey, is that my…?"

"Y-you left it." She carefully handed him his bow.

"Thanks. I'd be pretty lost without it, ya know?" She blinked her reply. With an 'eep' he brought her into a hug. She was surprised as first, but soon copied his actions and hugged back. "Thanks again", he whispered.

"Umm, thank you for helping Anko."

"I hope she takes kindly to me." Naruto gave a genuine grin with his eyes closed, as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He slowly left Hinata as he climbed up the side of the wall to a hollowed out building and out of sight. Hinata swayed slightly as her head suddenly felt light. She enjoyed his embrace, his smell, his warmth, too much, despite still being damp from the rain. The Hyuuga closed her eyes and pictured him perfectly.

However, she was far from alone. Another pair of white eyes was watching the interaction. She was too far to hear much, and her eyes were not as adapted as Hinata's. The moment Hanabi learned that one of the figures was Hinata, her curiosity piqued. When she saw how happy and relaxed her sister looked, as if the world was no longer on her shoulders, he stiffened. It should have been in Hanabi's fixed and fated reality. Who was the other person she saw with her Byakugan? She simply had to know. The unknown was something she loathed. She quickly received a headache over all the ways she could take that little ounce of happiness away from Hinata.


	10. Chapter X

**My god I had some brutal essays to write. Anyone who had thought Bronze Age art was worth 3000 words is beyond me. Onto the dissertation now so that's fun. Ironic how I take breaks from writing by writing. Anyway I had a question about timeline and essentially it all happened before Jiraiya and Tsunade was born if that makes it clear on the scale. It all happened roughly during the reign of the first and second Hokage. Orochimaru was alive all the way back then but simply attained immortality. Also in other news, I am around two thirds of the way through overhauling the first act of my first story. I've written around 10,000 more words and edited around 40,000.**

 **Reviews and again many thanks to Missrach for helping me not cock up my stories any more than they already are. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

 **UzumakiGal3113: I'm glad you grew to liking it. It's always a risk reading new stories especially when they have only just reached the 50k mark. I hope you continue to read. As for Hinata... you can only push someone so far.**

 **Azaira: If you are still reading this. I hope I have worked on my paragraph lengths. One day I may go back and cut them down.**

 **NarHina: I get the feeling you'll love this chapter. Also I have plans for Hanabi. Don't you worry.**

 **QueenDeadPool: If you're still reading that is, glad you enjoy it.**

 **Please continue your support. It is greatly appreciated.**

Needless to say, Hinata's night did not go well at all. She had to protect the fireweed from several intruders. Women from the village using the thin excuse of, 'oh he must be in here', to needlessly trash the girls home. Hinata had the same things that any other girl would have. Well, if they took their survival seriously. Although for the Hyuuga, the word of the day was 'weird'. All of her possessions were 'weird' to the intruding girls, and apparently gave them license to damage her things.

The morning after did not go to well. Her sister, Hinabi, visited and immediately pushed Hinata against the wall. She started acting "aggressively" concerned sister over Hinata's imaginary illness. Why aren't you searching like everyone else? Something must be wrong with you, she would say. Her hand would tug Hinata's face to new angles trying to discern anything she could. She left disappointed, without saying a word to the very confused and half-dressed pale-eyed girl. Akamaru, who had managed to remain hidden, poked his head out and tilted it as if to say, 'What was all that about?'

Carefully, she packed the fireweed into her back-pack and lifted it over her shoulder. Giving herself a heavy sigh, she stepped out what was left of her door. Someone had insisted on kicking it down in the night. Being as badly-made as it was, it actually cracked in half from the lady's foot. The air was just as cold as any autumn morning. Green was dying back into the dull shades of brown, traveling all the way to the old ruins surrounding the colony walls. The ground was also chewed up by the unusual footfall of frantic women throughout the night. Hinata sighed inwardly, and tip toed to avoid the deeper bits of mud. Her boots were not protective over her ankles, and the Hyuuga preferred if her feet did not get wet this early in the morning.

Although, five minutes later she was getting used to the cold water inside her shoe. A somewhat comforting thought was the knowledge that what she found uncomfortable, most would find unbearable. As a result, there was not as many people around last night. Perhaps the morning light revealed how messy they all were, and so calmed them down into an uneasy sleep. To Hinata's left, the gateway into the settlement, she spied more guards than usual. Clearly militia, as they lacked the official uniform, but still looking around from the safety of their watchtower.

The wind softly caught Hinata's hair, and blew a few strays stands across her face. It wasn't the smooth texture normally accustomed to her appearance, but now slightly tangled and clumpy. She had forgot to brush her hair again, and would probably pay the price later, but to any onlooker, she was no less beautiful. She simply had moved to a more rustic look. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She used to feel nervous, no matter how slight, when she decided to leave the confines of the village, but now she felt it was easy to just turn and walk. She simply complied in her whims.

Walking through the empty streets, she passed all the dead buildings and imagined what the shop fronts must have looked like all those years ago. A feat that took true imagination in Hinata's opinion, as most of the colours were leeched away from the wood. The girl liked to think they were painted bright yellow, blue, and red across the entire town. Cheerful and busy people working to and fro. Children taking advantage of the morning sun to get some mischief done for the day. Of course, she pictured this same scene only with women in frame. To this, Hinata actually frowned. It felt empty picturing this whole town with just women. Where was Naruto? All the people in those photographs? Where those glimpses into the past? How it was supposed to be?

She felt a pair of eyes pierce her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she instantly recognised who was watching her. Up the road, and coming away from the large gateways, were two figures walking towards her. From a distance, she could make out the blue mask and silver hair behind a particular book. Kashina. The second figure took longer to spy because hiding behind a full basket of… nuts? Hinata was surprised that someone else was collecting outside the walls. Last she checked, she was the only one. As Hinata approached the pair she slowly started to identify the other woman. Long dark hair, covered one eye. Highly judgemental stature. Very well dressed, although the clothing was slightly stained now. Was that… Sasuki? It would explain her cold stare. All three passed without a word, although Kashina gave a nod as she passed. Sasuki was watching her, following the Hyuuga with her eyes.

One sentence was all that ran through the newly discovered Uchiha's mind. 'What was her secret?'

* * *

In an hour, the Hyuuga was wandering through the forest. Leaves had quickly fallen into the mulch below her feet. Each step lifted the autumn smell of decaying leaves. Above her, the trees still held on to their foliage, but after each gust of cold wind, more would rain down. Someone new to the forest at this time would be utterly lost, as the browns of the world quickly blurred any features. Hinata might have passed several buildings without even noticing. Fortunately, her eyes were not searching for features, but instead the next 'H' she scratched into each tree on her path into the woods. As evident by her confidence, her system worked. Tree after tree she was able to find and carry on with her journey. Sometimes stopping to check for threats, but otherwise unhindered.

* * *

Thwack! Naruto's arrow struck the target he was practising on, from one side of his garden to the other. He slowly lowered his bow, and glanced over at Jiraiya, who gave him an approving nod.

"That felt weird." Naruto said. He was referring to the fact this was not normal archery training.

"So, you can feel it, now? That is wind chakra you were tapping into. Apparently, it's your affinity."

"But all I feel is a tingly sensation. How is it meant to be helping me?"

"You're more accurate, and the arrows are digging in. Even the blunt ones."

"I still don't believe you, ya know? It's just nothing like in your books."

"Hmn. You do have a point, brat, but for now we can work with what you have."

"I'm still sore from yesterday." Naruto deadpanned. Although, he was capable to keep going. Some of the deeper scratches were now stinging as he moved them. Alas, Jiraiya told him to keep moving, otherwise he would end up still from the past day's events.

"Suck it up, kid. You're lucky they aren't parading your skin across town." Naruto swallowed hard, but then a thought hit him, and his cheesy grin came back all of a sudden.

"But, I had help."

The older man crossed his arms as he sat on a log waiting to be chopped. "You still have not told me what she looks like."

"You won't have to wait for long. She said she would get the last ingredient for me."

"If she is trustworthy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto snapped, a little more defensively than he'd admit.

"Woah woah. All things said and done, I've seen what women from those colonies are like. Old habits die hard."

"She isn't like that. She is caring and kind. Kinda like how mum would treat dad, only softer, if you get me."

This tickled Jiraiya in the right way as he burst out laughing. It took a full minute before the old man could collect himself.

"Brat. She just lacks Kushina's certain violent streak. When your mum was very young, she was shy as anything, but once she laid eyes on your dad she quickly became more… forward…"

Naruto blushed about this. He knew little of his parents' life before they had him. Just the highlights, as he was too young to understand the hardships. To say he idolised both was an understatement. He dreamed of a life that flowed exactly like those fond memories. Of course, such fantasies were short lived, as he grew up too quickly in this world, and learned the hard way how cruel of a place it actually was.

"Seriously though, you should keep practicing. Eventually you'll get it, so your arrows can shoot through the target. Remember, sharp and thin."

To this, Naruto signed and tried to control his blush. Knocking an arrow into place, he slowly raised his bow once more. With his right hand, he slowly pulled the arrow back to his right sapphire blue eye. He could feel the feather tickle his cheek where the birth marks marked his skin. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Look down the arrow and focus. Feel the chakra and push it to the tip. Sharp and thin.

The Uzumaki released the arrow, which sung through the air, and struck the target dead centre. Thwack, knock, knock. The tip buried to the point Naruto doubted he could retrieve the arrow. Jiraiya was looking the other way, as he heard something other than Naruto's arrow. His years of survival had homed in his training, while Naruto was likely too engrossed in his shooting to have noticed the faint knocking sound.

"Brat, keep shooting. I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure thing." Naruto spoke, as he knocked in another arrow, pausing only to allow the pain in his arms to subside.

Hinata was standing patiently outside the front door leading to the interior of the cottage. Wisely enough, she chose against climbing over the wall again. She stood out waiting long enough to look on the at the entrance way. There was a small and humble garden to the front of the cottage to either side of the gravel path she stood on. A low picket fence surrounded and protected said garden from the forest beyond. Ivy grew up the walls and around the windows, which were all small glass panes. Some even had swirls protruding from the glass. They appeared to conceal the inside, and made it difficult for Hinata to look in, but she decided against getting closer to peer through.

The door opened before Hinata. She was expecting Naruto; blond man with broader shoulders and about a height advantage of four or five inches, but nevertheless recognisably Hinata's age and size. Instead, what she saw was a significantly taller bear of a man, standing almost a foot taller than the woman with long thick white hair. His frame filled the doorway which could easily fit Hinata twice-over. His face looked old and leathery, like the skin had lost the softness of youth. He still had two red lines painted down his cheeks as some sort of clan markings; not too unlike Kanna.

Jiraiya was just as surprised as she was, standing upright and stiff when he discovered the small girl. She wore a thick lavender coloured coat that looked like it kept her warm even in winter. Her hair was starting to look as scruffy as Naruto's, which gave the impression she was not like the women often associated with the colonies. Her pale white eyes were the clear mark of a Hyuuga, and gave away her lineage to the old man in an instant. In her hands, she held out a basket filled with a green vine with red flowers poking from it.

Half a moment passed as the pair stared at each other. Hinata fell over backwards with a silent 'oh' escaping her lips. The heavy thud of the girl hitting the gravel behind her snapped Jiraiya out of his stupor, and he immediately scooped up the girl. In his arms, she was very light indeed. Quickly, he laid her next to Anko, who was still asleep.

* * *

"Brat, get in here. Your girlfriend passed out!" From outside, he could hear Naruto's confusion, and a moment later he burst through the back door about to question how senile Jiraiya had become. He entered, and instantly recognised Hinata. Two and two clicked and he was over by her side in a heartbeat.

"What did you do to her?" He snapped.

"I am guessing she fainted. I doubt she coped with seeing me."

"Of course, you look like you're big enough to eat her!"

"How about enough lip? Look after your girlfriend while I finish making the antidote."

Naruto blushed a bright shade of pink, but did not rebuttal Jiraiya's jab. He looked up and down her, then looked around the cottage. Feeling a bit lost as he tried to think what he should do with the Hyuuga. He used to feel like he knew what he was doing, but Jiraiya was content on throwing a spanner into the works simply by sitting in the room, getting more and more impatient with Naruto's flailing.

"Remember what your mum used to do with you when you were ill?" Jiraiya offered help, although his tone of voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Oh. Thanks." Naruto immediately left to get water from the well.

The young Hyuuga felt very warm and comfortable right now. Wherever she was, it smelled nice to her. Strong, but nice. She must've been laying on something soft. It felt like fur in her hands, and even the very air felt warm to her cheeks. She did not want to get up from this, but she felt something brush her hair off her face. Two voices, one recognisable. Where did she hear it before? It was elegant and light, with hint of crude dark humour leaping out. Clearly much to the other's distaste, who let out a loud roar of a laugh that nearly deafened the girl.

She heard a third voice, quipping back at whoever laughed. "Laugh any harder, and you'll fall apart. You woke her up." Her? Do they mean me?

Hinata opened her eyes to a pair of bright blue eyes. They almost glowed in the low yellow light. Close up, she could make out ocean blue flecks around the edges of the iris, and made them feel even more deeper. Nothing else mattered. She just looked straight into his soul and could tell that despite all his strength, he was as soft as snow. Small movements. Her eyes darted across his face. His cheeks adorning a slight blush. His lips slightly parted. His chin well shaven, but still had a slight layer of prickly blond hair. She swallowed hard.

"You gonna kiss yet?" Anko broke the silence between the two. Naruto jumped up from the stool he sat on at the speed of sound. He was blushing because he knew what a kiss was. He had seen his parents kiss. It was something only his mum and dad did together. Well, his mum would kiss his forehead every night, but he knew it meant something different.

Hinata, on the other hand, had no prior experience with such things and simply had to ask.

"W-what is a kiss?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, then at Anko, who looked between the two men. When Jiraiya looked at Anko, he just simply sighed heavily. Stopped. Then, there appeared a grin over his face.

"Naruto, why don't you tell her?"

"Or better yet show her?" Anko added much to Naruto's dismay.

"Er- N, I-i-i-I err… umm. Wait. How are you not flipping out?" Naruto stuttered, skillfully dodging the question.

Anko's face dropped, and this time she looked away into the fireplace and stared at the flames.

"I've met Jiraiya before, when I was younger, before I joined the colony." Her voice was now a whisper. The memories too painful. However, the older man picked off where she left off, after softly patting her on the shoulder.

"I was chasing after this snake called Orochimaru." Hinata's eyes widened as she had heard that name. "At the time, it was male, though I think he switched genders recently. I honestly lose track. Anyway, the bastard was responsible for our little colony in the mountains not too far from here."

"W-wait, Orochimaru? The o-one who made that disease?" Hinata's voice was quiet, but her natural curiosity broke through her shyness.

"Hmm? Oh, the very same? How? Well, how indeed. When I was young, he… she… it was a partner of our trio. Me, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. I thought it was our age, but no it was much older, able to live indefinitely it seemed." Jiraiya paused to make sure everyone was listening. "Anyway, to explain Anko quickly. We were betrayed to that 'capital' city. I lost Tsunade. I could only save your parents, Naruto; two kids who were barely children. I took them and raised them. Over time, they fell in love and then brought you into this world."

"It would have been a few years ago when Jiraiya must have started his wondering." Anko carried on. "I don't remember much of that night, but he pulled me out of that cage I was in. I was just left there. Apparently, abandoned after that coward ran away from Jiraiya's retribution."

"So, why didn't you come here?" Naruto asked, sitting down on the bed near Hinata.

"Ironically, it was easier to get the attention of the capital city. I was hot on Orochimaru's trail." He looked at Naruto. "I couldn't let Orochimaru run free after what he had done to us. I'm so sorry, Naruto, I only came back because he's- "

"-She, now." Anko interrupted.

"She. Is here. Probably knows where you live now, too, so please be careful. She can still use chakra like in those stories. Both of you."

"You can count on me! Some old hag won't bring me down." Naruto grinned. Hinata looked up to him, and even she felt some confidence. "Where is this capital city, anyway? It's the only thing I don't understand. How is it easier to get their attention?"

Jiraiya folded his arms. "That place is called Amegakure. Village Hidden in the Rain. It's ran by the Akatsuki, who specialise in hunting men."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, a lone woman walked in the forest. She had followed Hinata to this small cottage in the middle of the woods. Brushing her hand across the stone, she circled the place a few times. She waited here and there for hours, but now the daylight is almost gone, and Hinata still had not emerged from the building. Patience was never Sasuki's strong suit, but she knew enough to act careful. The… man that took her in was easily four times as large as she was. While she was prideful, she was not stupid, even perceptive enough to know this was not Hinata's secret.

Sneaking around to the back of the tall stone wall, she found a gate. Silently slipping through, she gazed around the garden to see what she could gather. Noting down the sheer amount of food that seemed untouched by the autumn. She was already benefitting from this discovery.

Ahead, she could hear a door opening. A voice, deep and still rusty spoke back into the building.

"Hey, I forgot to collect my arrows. I'll just be a minute." Sasuki dived behind some of the trees that lined the back of the garden. Peering past with her Sharingan, the figure was another boy. Importantly, one their age. Oh, was that Hinata's secret? An evil smirk spreads across her face. She does not deserve this gem. Only the best. Only me.

Alas, Sasuki had no idea what romance was. In all honesty, she was just as much, if not more so, as clueless as Hinata. Waiting for Naruto to walk closer to the target, biting her lip, she crouched low and readied to pounce.

Naruto walked to the target, and reached the first arrow, just as he was knocked over by the surprise attack. He fell hard onto the floor with Sasuki on top. Blue eyes met red eyes for the first time.

"You're mine." Were Sasuki's choice words.

"Err.. what?"

"Come with me. Forget that… girl."

"I don… Oh you mean, Hinata?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. Clearly this girl was not after Naruto, but instead wanted to steal from Hinata. He was forced to stare into the blood red eyes of an Uchiha, a veil of her hair blocked out everything else.

"Don't. Mention. Her fucking name!" Sasuki sat up on Naruto's lap, still staring down at him. "I get what I want, and what I was is you."

"She's done nothing. Nothing! To deserve anything!" Sasuki's heart was racing. Normally calm and collect, but this time she just wanted to shout. To scream. To dominate. Naruto did not move an inch, and it fuelled her belief she was able to control a man.

"Oh, how powerful I'll become if I have you at my side. I heard you even stood against Kurama, the strongest in our village by far. My rival." She smiled, a grin that was sickly. Sasuki could already feel the power that woman mentioned.

"So, come with me. I'll see to it you'll sit by my side at the top."

"No."

"What?"

"I said, no. I will not like anyone who shuns my friends like that."

"No?" She started laughing to herself uncontrollably. "Then I'll take you by force! If I can't have you willing, I'll drag you myself, until you learn to be with me!" She pulled out her knife. A carved steel blade with a polished wooden handle. Eloquent in its' design. She was about to thrust it down on Naruto by his face, in such a way the blade would just manage to cut the skin. However, Naruto was much faster, and significantly stronger. He simply caught her wrist, and stopped her attack dead.

What Naruto did not expect is a boot to come out of nowhere and strike the assaulting girl directly in the nose. The kick was well executed. Clean, and accurate. Even strong enough to rip the girls' wrist out of Naruto's grasp.

Naruto looked to see who owned the boot and for a second expected Anko or Jiraiya to be standing there, but no. Instead, Hinata stood there. Breathing heavily as if she had either run to his aid, or trying to calm herself down. Her eyes were furrowed in concentration as she turned her attention to the Uchiha. Her veins bulging, as her Byakugan had instinctively activated.

"Get off of Naruto. This is your only warning, Sasuki." Her voice was stern and strong. No sign of her stuttering.

"M-my face…" Sasuki held her nose as blood fell freely, visible compared to her pale skin, even in the low light. "What right do you have?"

"You're right." Hinata interrupted. "I have not done anything for Naruto. He saved me with the kindness in his heart, not because I had to earn it. By rights, I should be dead, but I am not, and I am eternally grateful. But, I will not stand by and watch some jealous bitch take him away."

"Jealous? Fucking jealous?" Her voice rising. "No, this is my birth right. I will have him. I will get you back for this, too. Mark my words."

"Bring it. I'll kick your ass if you come near him again."

"You know what? Fine. I'll go. But remember, I know where you live now. You're safe, because I still want him. But if you fucking dare stand up to me again, I am pretty sure I know a certain council who would love to hear about this. Are we clear?" She backed off and ran through the gate. The darkness of the forest covering her tracks as if she was never there.

No sooner had Naruto stood up again, had Hinata buried her face into his fur-clad chest. She sobbed briefly, and it took her a minute more to control her shakes.

"A-no. S-sorry. It's j-just I-I was scared."

"Shh, it's ok. Thank you for helping me back there."

"Mnn. It's n-nothing compared to w-what you did for me." She could feel a blush coming on deeply, but was thankful that the fur covered her cheeks from him.

Across the garden, were Anko and Jiraiya, who were both standing there awestruck. Both mouthing the word 'damn' to themselves. Neither had expected Hinata's outburst, and just slowly turned to face each other with a knowing nod. Anko was the first to move.

"Was that Sasuki? I'll get her and sort her out for you." Anko quietly turned back into the cottage, no doubt getting ready to chase after Sasuki. At the very least, she was able to threaten her into silence. She left Jiraiya to approach the couple.

"You've activated your Byakugan?"

"Y-yes." Hinata answered, although she did not move from the comfort of Naruto's chest.

"Good. If you like, I think I can help you train better. You're gonna need it, if you're sincere about what you just said."

"P-please, could you teach me? I o-owe a lot to N-Naruto." She immediately gave a low bow.

"So long as you're able to deliver resources to the village, they won't question you. Is that right?"

"Y-yeah. It'll be easier with Anko, too."

Jiraiya clapped loudly, and with a grin plastered almost as wide as Naruto's "Excellent. Come here every day, and I'll teach you about true survival, and not just the shite Amegakure teaches you."

Hinata stood up and glanced over at Naruto with a slight smile on her lips and blush on her cheeks. She would have never thought in a million years her closest friends would be the very beings demonised by society. They were all about to turn to go back inside the cottage before Hinata asked something.

"Urm, y-you never t-told me what a k-kiss was."

The two men froze. Silence quickly fell between them all.

"It's wh- err.. something two people do when… they… are in, urm, love." Naruto blushed, but once he finished, he gave Hinata a warm smile before casually scratching the back of his head. He had hoped he'd dodged the question and Jiraiya was being unhelpful.

Love? Like as in when you love food or love the season? No. It felt different around Naruto, it felt more. Did that make sense. Can there be something more than just love?

"Y-you mean, l-love a-as in more? Like, more t-than how I love cinnamon buns?

"I, err, cinnamon?"

"Oh. Something I ate while a-at the Capital C-City. They were so good."

"Mmm, reminds me of ramen. Something my mum used to cook for me. I love ramen, too, ya know?"

"C-can you make it?"

"Err, yeah. I guess I can. Just for you." He smiled.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was watching them discuss love, and the only though he could make out in his head was 'God, this is painful to watch.' He swung his arm around the back of Naruto, and pushed him onto the young girl. His movements were so unexpected that their lips ended up locking with a surprised 'meep' off both of them. A split second longer than what an 'accident' would have been, and the pair pulled away.

Naruto was blushing just as furiously, as he stuttered for an explanation. As for Hinata, her world stopped. She could feel how rough his lips were against hers. They were moist and accepting. Even tasted of him. Taste, another thing she found out she liked about him. The memory forever burned into her mind. Her heart raced, and she could feel her face reddening in realisation. Yes, this was certainly more than her love of cinnamon. They tasted good, but not this good, and certainly she did not have a reaction like this. She watched. Almost in slow motion, Naruto trying to dig himself out of his grave. In that moment, whatever that was, she wanted it to happen… again.

"That. Hinata, is a kiss." Jirayia spoke proudly, thinking he has inspiration for his next novel. Not that anyone would read it, except maybe Naruto. He just loved writing 'romance' novels.

"A-a-a k-kiss? I… liked… it." Hinata swayed back and forth, blood had rushed to her head after putting together what love and a kiss was. And she just experienced both at the same time and it was just too much. A switch flicked, and the poor girl fainted on top of Naruto, who caught her and picked her up in one quick sweep.


	11. Chapter XI

**Well arse... five months you've waited and itll likely be two more before the next chapter. I am almost finished with my dissertation so i'll get back on track before you know it. I hope you still enjoy this as much as I do.**

 **Rant time... may as well post it here. Hyuuga affair... why do I not like how the cannon dealt with it. Because if it was realistic then Neji should have never received the caged bird seal. Same goes for Hizashi, successors traditionally (sorry ladies) go to the eldest male in the family. Therefore Hiashi would be first in line like in cannon but Hizashi would have been second until Hiashi has a MALE heir. Therefore, sealing them and making them a branch family would only cock up their main branch should anything happen to Hiashi like it almost did in the Hyuuga affair arc.**

 **Ok so they allow females to be hairs. That's cool. So why would Hinata be ever worried about being married off (can't remember if cannon or not) because she would have to keep her Hyuuga name and title unless the main family branch be buggered. Though I can't remember if Hanabi taking over stuck or not. Anyway my point is Hinata and Naruto would have presumably ended up as a Hyuuga not an Uzumaki because of lines and I doubt Naruto is the type to make a fuss over his name. Either way pretty sure Hinata's character in the new arc should have been so much more than house-wife (like I dunno, lady of the Hyuuga. Ruling in her fathers retirement.) Incidentally would have made Boruto the next heir to the Hyuuga too.**

 **Food for thought. Anyway enjoy the story. I'll try to get back to schedule but work work work.**

Three weeks had gone by in a flash for Hinata. She had spent so much time outside the village she felt it was weirder entering her old home than leaving it again a few hours later. The first snow of the year had laid a crisp white layer throughout the forest. When there was no wind the entire forest was deathly silent. Not a twig moved, and most streams had frozen to a complete standstill. It was beautiful. Hypnotising. A scene rarely truly appreciated because it embodied both beauty and danger.

Hinata had changed much over the past couple weeks as well. Wearing a snow-white fur coat that used to belong to Kushina. Hidden away as it brought painful memories to Naruto and Jiraiya. But Naruto bit his lip and gave it to her to wear. The craftsmanship and effort gone into creating the coat showed through because Hinata had never felt so warm in a place so cold. Her navy-blue hair would contrast perfectly to the fur and made her look. Well. Naruto described it as beautiful. Hypnotising. A scene rarely truly appreciated.

Grasped in her right hand was her first bow that Naruto also gifted her. It was much lighter for Hinata and easier to pull back for her. The shaft was still smooth as Hinata only had the time to carve a couple lines. Of course, she appreciated the art and effort Naruto had put into his bow. Her quiver tied to her right leg for easy access and two knives were visible. One on her chest, copying Naruto, and the other by her hip. Thus, finishing the deadly metaphor.

The true beauty of the plan was Anko was able to persuade the village that this was all her doing. Honestly as long as Hinata kept of finding food and delivering it they would not question where she got so much new gear. Being away had its own perks with her social status. Yes, Hinata missed her friends but would always drop in to say hi whenever she was in the village. But she was never there long enough for anyone to notice. If she was there a little too long, they only had enough time to wonder what she was wearing.

The Hyuuga took a deep breath. Steam blowing out in a large cloud and slowly dissipating to the heavens above. Slowly she drew an arrow out of her quiver. Feeling the soft brown feathers in her fingers. Swiftly she spun the arrow, so it rested on the knuckle holding the bow. Arm stretched out she drew the string back to her right cheek. Her soft and delicate skin brushed up against the fletching as she stared down the arrow tip and marked her target.

A deer about twenty yards away was busy nosing the snow for something to eat. The creature had not noticed Hinata sneaking up to it. Hinata activated her Byakugan, she was much faster now since Jiraiya had given her a few pointers. Naruto may have his strength and cunning but Hinata was so much quieter and already better at chakra control than he was. A couple seconds passed, and the tip appeared to glitter as a film of quickly freezing water sharpened the tip to the point it may as well be a scalpel. Hinata was ready. She fire the arrow which whistled to its victim.

The deer shuddered and then fell down to one side. If it felt any pain Hinata made sure it was a split second and no more.

"That was perfect Hinata!" A cheerful voice called out from the forest behind. The blond hair betrayed the identity as Naruto. Whom had been keeping back in case he accidently scared the hunted creature. Hinata blushed and her cheeks became the only colour in the forest.

"I'm still not sure a-about killing. I feel bad still."

Naruto was walking over now and by the time he reached Hinata he hugged him.

"I know it feels horrible but think about it wolves and bears all hunt, don't they? Owls and cats? Even oh… what's his name… Akamush?"

"Akamaru."

"Right, he hunts too."

"I guess your right." She shot him a smile. Naruto walked passed. He still wore his original fur and so was nowhere near as camouflaged as Hinata, but he made up for it in ambushes and range. Even if he did wear white fur. His blond hair would ruin the effect anyway.

"N-Naruto urm c-could y-y-you err k-k…" She blushed harder. Naruto looked over his shoulder. "Kiss me? It c-calms me d-down." Naruto shot her a smile before turning around and walked in front of her.

"You know you don't have to think of an excuse every time you want a kiss." A quick flashback to his mum practically pouncing on his dad without warning.

"I…" Hinata stopped herself and simply looked up to Naruto's eyes and arced her neck upwards to meet his lips. The feeling was just as strong since her first kiss. Warm butterflies that brushed all stress in her body away. Still not understanding what it all meant. Jiraiya and Anko, her two parent figures would just reply with 'talk to Naruto'. Although, sometimes Jiraiya was try and sneak Icha Icha into her possession.

He only seemed to do it while Naruto was within ear shot. Laughing hard at his desperate attempts to get the book off Hinata. Who played along unknowing the reasons why these particular books were so taboo. Obviously, they mean much to both men because they never go as far as to destroy them. Just hide them in ever creative places.

The pair slowly pulled back from their lips. Naruto taking a deep breath. Hinata found out she took his breath away just as much as he did to her. He would always smile afterwards though and that to her was beautiful. Hypnotising. And a scene appreciated by no one except her.

They both took a deep breath to recover.

"Ready?" Naruto asked.

"Mn. My friends know where to meet me."

"Want me to help you carry dinner some of the way?"

"Please, it looks h-heavy."

Naruto took his bow off his should and passed it to Hinata. He carefully rolled the carcass to its side and grabbed both of its front legs and hoisted the body over his neck. With his other hand he picked up the hind legs and carefully stood up with the deer in his arms.

The pair slowly walked through the forest. Snow crunching under their feet but enjoying the company despite the cold. Their breaths blowing steam in front of their faces. What little exposed skin they had stung in the air but in the grand scheme of things the air only reminded them it was freezing out here.

"Ano, Naruto, s-sorry about before."

"Hm? Before? Oh, don't worry I was just surprised." They both could remember what happened. While Hinata had spent a few nights out in their cottage they had given a respectable lions-share of the large raised bed that took up almost a whole room by itself. Only time she had to share was when Anko came one night from hunting a little later than she thought. However, the night before this was a little different.

Hinata Hyuuga woke up in the middle and felt lonely and cold for some reason. As if the mound of blankets were not helping her sleep. The room was pitch black but her Byakugan helped her see where two people slept on the opposite bed. Naruto in the far corner and Jiraiya by the edge snoring heavily. She blushed at a thought that formed in her head.

Naruto looked warm and comfortable and probably the smell of him would send her right to sleep. She knew she was quiet and she won't wake him up. Softly she wriggled out of the furs and laid down on her hands and knees. Like a wolf in the night. Smiling to herself as she crept on. She still wore a dressing down which had been tied firmly so it couldn't come loose. Hinata had not worked out why both Naruto and Jiraiya insisted they were to be outside and 'give her privacy' while also insisting she wore something. Hinata didn't have an issue because after all she always used to undress in front of her friends when she still lived with them. Still couldn't understand why Naruto nearly fainted on the first night when apparently, they had offered her to stay instead of risking going outside.

Men were strange. After all neither were wearing a gown and instead wore some shorts. Despite this Hinata could see their point when she herself felt dizzy for some reason when Naruto took his shirt off. Hence why she never complained when they asked her to wear something.

Tonight, was different. She felt a strong attraction. A need that felt like hunger. To be next to Naruto. Like he was a campfire and she was frozen. Butterflies again, creeping towards him she started feeling light headed and knew he probably wouldn't want to be disturbed like this. Yet that just made the attraction all that stronger. For once; just this once, Hinata was in control.

Carefully she rolled back the furs that covered Naruto. In response the sleeping man rolled away as the cooler air pushed him into a warmer position in the bed. Hinata slowly slide herself behind him and wrapped herself as close as she could to his back. Her heart was racing as she stared at the yellow lochs of hair. One arm resting her head like a pillow and the other twitched indecisively before slowly reaching over the Uzumachi's flank.

It would have been the perfect crime except for one thing. Her hand was icy cold.

Naruto jumped up with a yelp. Hinata just laying there paralysed in fear with her arm outstretched. It didn't take a genius to guess who did it.

"H-Hinata was that you?"

"Eep" Was her response.

"Warm up you… Wait why are you on this side of the bed?"

"I… err" Fortunately Naruto could not see in the dark and so her deep crimson blush was invisible.

"I guess it's what… two… p-people… You were cold, weren't you?" Naruto was pretty sure she was nodding and laid back down. "C-come here." Hinata scooted closer and Naruto wrapped his arms around her. It was awkward at first but eventually she found a comfortable spot resting her head on his chest and listening to the stead beat of his heart.

Both closed their eyes and once they opened them again they were back in the forest with quiet blushes on their cheeks.

"Heh Jiraiya got a fright though."

"I-isn't he writing another Icha Icha?"

"Another one? Jeeze it's about us isn't it."

"Ano?" Hinata curiously looked at her partner. Another puff of steam wisped around her face.

"Oh… err he takes inspiration from people he knew."

"N-Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"C-could you tell me what l-love is? You've never given me a straight answer."

"Oh…" Naruto paused for a minute or two while thinking deeply. "Sorry. I just. I dunno. Feel its right for some reason. Ya know? Like you were meant to be taught it by your family."

"Your Mum and Dad?" She stuck a chord but Hinata felt like if she stood her ground she would have answers for once. For a moment the white eyed girl though that he was about to change the subject.

"Yeah they taught me about it." He took a long sigh. "Love is like a connection. A bond stronger than anything on this world. Where you are willing to do anything for them. First it starts subtly. They say love is on first sight, but I believe it takes time to form properly. It's unique and only really happens to one person. Kinda like you feel warm, brave, bold, flutters in your stomach whenever you see them. And you do things with each other that's special, devoted, and exclusive."

Hinata stopped and stared. Naruto had been rambling on but what he said was exactly what she felt whenever she was with a certain someone.

"N-Naruto i-is there anyone y-you f-feel t-t… that way?"

Naruto in turn turned away and blushed furiously. "I err think you know the answer to that."

The girl was stunned but unlike other times where she would feel dizzy and faint she felt nothing but clarity. The pale eyed woman skipping in front of her love and gave him a quick kiss.

"I get it now." She blushed and looked up into his caring sapphire eyes. "It's love I've been f-feeling."

The boy gave her a warm smile and huddled up to her. He would have hugged her, but he still carried the deer.

The pair walked and basked in the warm glow. Somehow the snow did not feel so cold now. Hinata supported a sweet smile. Uncharacteristic normally but she could not help it. Feelings realised had made her feel very happy and safe. She understood that Naruto would genuinely do anything. Strange how she could find something so powerful and desirable from the very things she was told to avoid.

It had been thirty minutes since she left the company of Naruto. Dragging the dear through the forest proved difficult as she could not carry it. However, the Hyuuga made short work. Using her Byakugan at regular intervals to make sure she was alone. It was eerie wondering through the trees in complete silence. The only thing that broke that glass was the snow under her feet. Her breath hard against the cold and her heart thumping loudly.

Kanna and Chiho were both standing at the gates and waiting for Hinata to arrive. While they worried for her at times they both realised how much happier she had been. Sia fortunately was not with them. That girl may be really creepy and very offensive, but she was gullible and so easy to trick when they needed time away from her.

"Is there something wrong? You always fidget before Hinata returns." Chiho calmly stated at her friend.

"Hn? Nah it's just cold here. Wish I could have some fur like Hinata."

"Envious?"

"Ha. You wish." Kanna looked away which Chiho managed to notice despite looking through her glasses. "Look here she is."

The pair ran forward to help Hinata carry the deer. Kanna amazed at the size of her kill and even more amazed that she killed it herself. Sincerity in her voice made Chiho believe that the Hyuuga was telling the truth. Not that she needed to lie just some things about her it was obvious there was more to the story.

"Hinata, you sure you can't make another coat?" Kanna asked. She was starting to shiver as her coat was apparently insufficient to hold back the winter.

"It takes a lot to h-hunt. I um made a start though" Hinata replied. She wanted to make her friends fur coats, but Naruto pointed out it took a while to gather enough furs. Or hunt larger and more dangerous creatures like wolves or bears.

"Why don't you ask that male for one like you've done with yours." Chiho calmly spoke out. Kanna took a step back and looked between the pair while Hinata Immediately jumped back. Both just as surprised as the other. The startled girls were about to stutter some excuse or denial before Chiho raised her hands.

"It's quite simple really. Firstly, you own a bow. That's the second time I've seen that weapon. Here no one else knows how to make weaponry like that we just have it delivered to us and replaced. Secondly you kept saying it takes a long time to make a coat, yet you recieved yours suddenly. Thirdly I'd imagine you would need training for both. Forth you're happier which suggests acceptance. It's sad you say but you were something of a martyr here. Fifth you stayed somewhere overnight for the past month or so. It is far too cold to camp in the wilderness."

"Ok Ok we get it. You found out." Kanna interrupted. Chiho turned as if to ask an unspoken question. Those who knew her would be able to read just questions. "I accidently walked in on Hinata hiding that man in her house." She glanced at her. "I really worry for you Hinata. I don't know what's going on, but it can't be good. These people are creatures of manipulation."

"H-he i-i-"

"I just worry Hinata. For you of course, and I promised to never tell a soul."

"He's not like that!" Hinata screamed out louder than she had intended. Clasping her mouth shut with her mouth as soon as she did.

"Quiet." Kanna hissed. "Someone might hear. Let me finish"

Hinata simply nodded.

"I was talking about that priestess. Nearly everyone is now believing her crap now and you cannot be found out or they will kill you! Everyone is going crazy about it."

"How do you know they are lying?" Chiho asked. Chances are she knew just wanted to hear it.

Kanna smiled. "Akamaru, been pestering me to come and see that person again. Kinda hoped he would be here but I guess it's too close to the village for comfort." Just as she said that an upset yip rung out from her coat. "Can't be the monster they say. Honestly if you actually listen to that crap. He doesn't even look like their descriptions."

"Besides you're still clearly helping us. It's not like you've ran away." Chiho added.

"We will always be here for you just please don't be careless." All three girls grabbed the rope that Hinata used to drag the deer.

"T-thank you both. Really. You always been here for me."

"Ah don't worry about it. Thank you for looking out for us." Kanna smiled. "Ready to wow everyone with this?"

"Ano why did you want to me to hunt one?"

"Aside from the food. Sasuki has been really bugging us recently. Wanting to know everything about you. This aught to shut her up for a while. Oh, and expect something from Kurama too. Someone told her that you got new gear and it's in her head that she should challenge you."

Hinata bushed and awkwardly played with the rope in her hands. She had expected Sasuki to do something but Anko couldn't damage control the girl entirely. Hopefully she could nip in and out like she usually did and be noticed by as few people as possible.

* * *

However, the aforementioned people were not present. Instead they were sneaking in the elder's tower. First was Sasuki. Her red eyes and jet-black air unmistakable in the gloom of the scarcely inhabited corridors. Behind her was Kurama. An evil smirk which matched the thrashing red hair, excited over the plot they were about to hatch.

"This is perfect. How the hell did you know this route?" Kurama practically purred.

"Hmm a friend told me."

"I'd like to meet this friend."

"Hush though."

"Don't tel-"

"Listen."

"He-"

"Go."

Both girls ran across the corridor and into a small room. It was dark in here but Sasuki was sure the room was seldom used. The thick layer of dust seemed to testify to this. Sasuki looked directly into her violent rival. Friendship was something neither could admit to.

"This should be above the food store. Remember the deal. You fight for both of our food, right?"

"Right. A promise is a promise."

Sasuki smirked and tossed over a small box of matches. "Go wild. But, so we can still sneak out. If we manage this, we will smoke out a certain someone."

"You know me." Kurama struck a match and held the flame in front of her face. "I love fire."

The wild woman dropped the match. It burned for a while before going out with a wisp of smoke. Both knew one match wouldn't cut it, but the girl seemed mesmerised with how the match would curl up in the heat and eventually break into nothing more than ash.

Sasuki was not as idle as her partner as she started to pile up the rag that filled what appeared to be another store room. Perhaps when things got dire they'd use the blankets here, but they smelt musky. The Uchiha guessed they were probably flea and moth bitten with all the holes in the fabric. Not to mention the mere touch made her feel itchy.

"Just light these on fire." Sasuki commanded. Kurama just smiled and struck another match. The small stick fell from her fingers and landed softly onto the fabric. For a second it looked like the cloth wouldn't catch but sure enough the flame grew suddenly and wormed around each individual thread.

By the time Hinata and her two friends had reached the village. Still dragging their tribute. The two girls were stilling on the well which cantered the plaza. Sasuki was the first to notice the groups. Sounds of shock and awe had attracted her attention away from waiting for smoke.

* * *

The Hyuuga shot a glare at the Uchiha and she did not miss the wave of jealousy that briefly betrayed her usual arrogance. Hinata had certainly felt more comfortable knowing she had people behind her. Both male and female. Sasuki couldn't hurt her now. Not really. Not when Anko was ready to cover for her.

Kurama on the other hand seemed to be in euphoria. Grinning from ear to ear in quiet contemplation and knowledgeable to what was about to happen. She was safe. Being strongest here meant she could be the bread winner if it boiled down to it. Fight and fire were both ingrained into her very bones. So, euphoria was the accurate way to describe her.

However, if anyone could get more excited it would be her. Glancing over at what Sasuki was looking at she saw something new. Of course, it was Hinata and that detail shocked her. Kurama had not actually seen the Hyuuga for many weeks and glancing at the fur clothes. Hair looked more like black hay than smooth the smooth scalp she used to brush every morning. Metal glinting in the winter's sun. Some even appeared to shine a coppery orange rather than iron. Kurama glanced at her eyes which were white as the fur she wore and beautifully contrasted with her hair and showing leather. Not to mention what looked like a smoothed staff with a string tied to either end and slung over her shoulder.

Like a lightning bolt, the red-haired fury leaped up and ran to Hinata to do something no one had every known her to do. Fan-girl.

It started with a high-pitched squeal which nearly knocked all three of the newcomers over. Then it followed by a hundred questions in quick succession. Some probably managed to overlap the previous. Personal space was not the word of the day for Kurama as she prodded and pinched at every peace she could find. Normally this resulted in her ruining said piece she was touching. Curiously enough she carefully let go of everything with respect.

"Can you show me how to use it?" She asked with beady eyes. Hinata struggled to form an answer. Her mind had gone blank at the unexpected attention.

"I… Err.. Umm." Kanna nudged her on the shoulder.

"Sure." The white-eyed girl handed her piece of rope to Kanna before taking out her bow from her left shoulder and gripped the weapon lightly between her forefinger and thumb. Looking around for a target she settled on the wooden post on a corner. Not too far to risk missing even though it was only around ten paces away.

"You hold it lightly like this… too tight of a grip will only pull your shot if you jerk on release." Her right hand reached for an arrow and she loaded it on her knuckle. "T-then you let the arrow rest." By now she had attracted a small crowed including Sasuki herself. Envy deep in her eyes.

Hinata was notably blushing now as she felt around a dozen sets of eyes on her. "A-and p-pull back w-while looking d-down t-the… shaft." She took a deep breath before stretching the string back and shooting the arrow at the wooden beam. With a dull thud the arrow bit deeply into the wood.

Kurama was easily impressed and clapped at her performance.

"So you used that to kill that creature?"

"I f-feel b-bad but it's food right?"

"Awesome! I want one now! Can I have yours?"

"Umm."

"No Kurama, Hinata needs it." Chiho interrupts. Her red eyes shot at the stoic girl before sighing. Everyone was expecting her to just take it. Everyone could feel that fact in the air as if it was the very oxygen. Instead she just gave Hinata a smirk, a wide grin like she knew something but instead chose to smile.

"I get that, still… see you around alright?" Kurama turned and walked past the now dispersing crowed. Vanishing into their whispers. Two groups of people shared one school of thought. Hinata, Kanna, Chiho and across the plaza, Sasuki collectively thought 'What is she planning.'

"Ok now I have seen all the strange things this world has to offer." Kanna commented as she walked over to the imbedded arrow and gave it a tug. "Damn, its stuck in pretty deep. You'll be ok to lose this one?" Hinata nodded before turning to exit the village. She was supposed to stay outside after all.

* * *

Meanwhile one pair of eyes never left the raven-haired teenager. Her silver hair flicked past her ear as she limped across the plaza to the arrow Hinata shot. No one paid any mind to this woman. To them she was an accepted addition to their community. She practically licked her lips as she bent down to look at the arrow. 'Brown with red tips. Curious.' Slowly getting up to visit some of the other girls. Like a priest going to bless the injured for good health.


	12. Chapter XII

**It's that favourite time of the year after my undetermined amount of time it takes me to write these chapters. Also I read a good fic that had Kurenai presented with ulterior motives towards Hinata and I really enjoyed that angle of her so I am throwing that around.**

 **Epic-Feirywolf: your continued enjoyment of the story would be pretty epic too.**

 **Theyethatwatchesoverall: Hopefully I won't keep you waiting for very long.**

 **Narhina: Thank you for your thoughts on my rant. That all does make sense and it's probably because of my western understanding of the world that I'd miss a few details.**

 **But i'll still have to disagree about Hinata's role as a housewife. Granted it doesn't have to be clan duties but it should be something that keeps her out of the family sphere much like Naruto is. It's really hard to sympathise with Boruto with his distaste for the Hokage 'because it's taken his family away' when he still has a loving Mother, a bundle of joy for a sister (I like Himawari tbh) and from the looks of it Hiashi and the Hyuuga family are good to them. Boruto's story needs to go all out, just like the original Naruto series where Naruto literally starts out with nothing as nothing. Now if both parents were too busy because from the demands of the village/Hokage position and Boruto is forced to look after his sister then I feel his character would be more justified.**

 **Furthermore while Boruto looks up to Naruto, he could also look up to Hinata who was a ninja, decorated war hero, and could fight side-by-side with Naruto with Hyuuga training. Ironically Sakura was better written in this regard (episode where Sakura and Sasuke fight that clone (?) with the Sharingan). Sarada is able to respect both of her parents equally.**

 **Anyway sorry for ranting just my opinion on the new Boruto series. Still hope you enjoy the story (this story that is).**

 **Ana72: It's a lot but it all will be tied together (if perceived skill has anything to say about it). Glad you are enjoying the story.**

 **Jenuzumaki: Bit more where that came from. And yes, though their ideals are very much warped by their society.**

Please Review and such but the plot moves on.

"Someone get more buckets!"

"I need help over here!"

"Quick the roof is catching!"

"Movie it!"

So the yelling and screaming continues at the colony. Why? The old Hokage tower was once more set ablaze. Fire openly licked out of each and every window or hole. Ironically the building finally regained its red colour but one out of the fierce heat rather than its' gloried history. By the time the smell of smoke reach anyone, the stores were beyond having. Timber both dry and seasoned burned well as intended just not in the intended fireplace.

Right now, the women of New Konoha were trying to stop the embers from leaping onto the roof of some of the houses. Fortunately proving an easier task compared to taming the flames in the tower.

Only two people remained still because of the fire. First, and predictably so, was Kurama who stood mesmerised by the 'pretty' fire. The second was Orochimaru. A figure who sat comfortably from on top of the cliff that backed the old city. Her smile and gaze made her look hungry. Below was her feast. Her mind, looking forward to being sated by the destruction.

"Where is Biwako?" One demanding voice echoed through the chaos.

"I haven't seen her!"

"Biwako. Lady Biwako…"

"Wait does that mean?"

"No… Shit. Someone get more water."

"She's in there?"

Some of the older woman rushing inside. Ignoring the heat as best as they can. Unfortunately, they could only get so far before pain forced them to retreat.

"No good the stairs are gone." One called in between coughs.

Damariss could only grimace at the thought. There was little hope for her old friend now. Her mood shared by others who took a moment to remorse in silence. In truth only around half the council made it out and by then it was only sheer luck. Likely trapped and left to the fire.

"How did the fire start?" Damariss ordered. Not expecting a reply but her quest for answers demanded she at least tried.

* * *

Who had the answer? Had she known she would have simply asked Jiraiya. While the colony battled with the fire, the large man was quickly packing as if he was to leave five minutes ago. Much to a confused Naruto.

"Jiraiya? Jiraiya!"

"Listen kid you saw the smoke. I need to find that woman before she does anything else. Look I promise I'll be back before you know it." He knelt in front of the blond and looked him square in his eyes. Naruto's innocence matched by Jiraiya's wisdom. Light and dark. Hope and despair. Then the old man smiled.

"Your parents would be proud of you." His remark hit Naruto hard. Not that he was not aware but the tone in Jiraiya's voice was new to him. A Serious factual tone meant to toughen him up like a father should. "Things are about to become difficult for you. Protect Hinata will you? She is worth it." The sage could only think of Tsunade as he spoke. He turned and opened the door.

"Hold the fort." Only turning to see a dark green snake at eye level blocking his view. Instantly jumping back from the threat and pulling a small axe from his belt.

"Don'tss move butss lisssten." Jiraiya brow furrowed. A message, but for who. Naruto meanwhile concentrated on the fact a snake just spoke. Surprise could only begin to describe how he felt.

"Spit it out Orochimaru."

"My massster notsss here. Butsss I broughtsss a messsssssage." The snake took its time to think of the message before replying. "Masster wantsss you tssso know how will you cope withhh thhhe horentsss nessst kicked?"

"Hornets nest? Oh…"

"What do you mean?" Naruto added trying to sound braver than he actually was. The snake was easily sixteen feet long and large enough to swallow a person whole.

"Massster getsss whatsss she wantsss. Doesn'tsss mean she can'tsss be entsssertssained."

"What does she want? Snake." Jiraiya snapped. The snake had accidently started to eye up the blond before turning its head back to Jiraiya. If a snake could grin it would be now as it exploded into smoke.

Trying his best to hold in his anger, Jiraiya retied his axe to his belt before storming out of the house. Without a word to Naruto. 'I have to find her before she manages to accomplish her goal. Whatever it is.'

Silence fell like a thick blanket on the blond. Stood staring at the footsteps left by his only family. Part of him wanted to run after Jiraiya. But then how would Hinata find them? Part of him wanted to break down and hide. But then what if Hinata needed him? Naruto opted to just standing there motionless. Unable to do anything.

Jiraiya stormed on through the woods. Being forged in the forest for as long as he had been, the man had no issue about getting lost. He always held the philosophy about how the forest only bowed to those with a strong will. He had to continue his search. To catch the being than ruined his life. He swore on revenge but giving his head time to think the man suddenly stopped in the snow.

Looking back over his shoulder at where he had come from. 'Nah, he has Hinata now. I can do this. I can protect him still.' Taking a few more steps. 'What could Orochimaru possibly want? She had succeeded in all her plan so far and brought the world to its knees. What else is it?'

"Isn't it obvious Jiraiya? What does one do when one has achieved everything?" A sickly icy voice broke the man out of his musings. Before he could think of an answer. "I'll give you a hint. It comes right after destruction." The very air seemed to speak to Jiraiya.

"You're creating something."

Laughter rushed to him. As if it was carried by the wind itself. "Even filth gets it right once in a while."

"If I'm filth. What does that make you?"

"This world's saviour."

Jiraiya simply snorted in response. "Then why here?"

"Would 'home' suffice?"

"You aren't the sentimental type." Jiraiya started to search for where the voice came from, but it appeared to surround him.

"Then think of it as convenient."

"I see you want me away from the boy. What do you plan for him?"

"Not me… them. Only I cannot have you in the picture. Don't bother going back now. I have something you want. Two in fact. Myself and Tsunade. All I ask is you follow my yarn for now."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. If looks could kill, then he would have committed genocide. "Take that name seriously you snake!"

"So I assume I have your attention?"

The sage glanced to his right and with lightning reflexes he threw his axe with all his might. The hatchet spun in the air and for a split second seemed to pierce a shadow that was observing him.

"Sorry Naruto. I can't let her go." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

"Report." Damariss hissed as a woman in white kimono uniform entered the room. Lady Hanako, the only other elder uninjured by the fire. Lady Koharu was also present but she had burn injuries covered up with cold cloth and a younger lady tending to her arm as she worked neither of whom paid any attention to the newcomer. The new office had been taken off the previous occupants in order to house the remaining elders. The one who entered had two distinct features. Her arms were wrapped up in bandages and her eyes were a bright crimson in colour. Naturally so in her case.

"Unfortunately, the fire has burned everything in the stores, wood, food, even our spare blankets and clothes. As for the elders I only have bad news. Biwako was found-"

"Spare me the details."

"My lady?"

Damariss took a deep breath. "Can you just leave it. She was my friend you know." It was a rare show of emotions for her but none the less she still cared for her late friend even if their philosophies differ. 'For the village' She grumbled to herself.

"I'm sorry my lady."

The elderly woman waved her off with her unbandaged arm. "I have something else I'd like you to do Kurenai"

The woman stood to attention and waited for her instructions.

"Tell me. Who are the people blaming for the fire?"

"Urm I believe it's more about that male who attacked a month ago."

"More?"

"Some still curse Hinata as she just left before we noticed the fire."

"Well I'll try to shift the blame to that male some more. We are going to need her skills. Sasuki too, I seem to remember report that she is working harder as well."

"Should I go and find them?"

"I have already informed Sasuki, but yes could you find Hinata. I know you don't like being outside the great walls but needs must."

"I can cope. After all I have been interested in that girl before Anko took over."

"Yes, sorry about that. It was hard to argue your case when Anko was better suited to the job by far."

"All is forgiven. Though may I ask something of you? I understand if now is not the time."

"Kurenai you have been one of our most loyal citizens. Of course, you can ask me anything."

"Please could you reconsider me as her guardian."

The bandaged woman leaned back in her chair. Allowing the old wood to creek with an audible hum from her throat. "Consider your position secured and you may break the news to her yourself."

"You have my thanks. I'll see myself out." Kurenai turned and exited the building. Looking around the colony had calmed down now the fire was put under control. Many were looking tired. Kurenai could only pity them. For she was growing sick of their complacency while she worked herself to the bone. Textiles, cooking, construction, security. Kurenai succeeded in all and had earned her the right to choose her next assignment.

Her heart was set on bringing in the more proactive members of the community in order to take after herself. Settling for those parameters she made her choice and fell in love with one girl in particular. Hinata understood her position well from Kurenai's perspective. Works for the sake of the community despite her social standing and never once faltering under pressure.

Unfortunately, no one but Kurenai saw her potential and instead paid attention to her silly habit of wondering into the wilderness. Something Kurenai would have to curb but to her that task was a small price to pay to be able to mould such opportunity. However, because of their blinded judgement, Anko was able to take her away. Even encourage leaving the safety of the colony. Something she could not bring to forgive just yet.

* * *

The white-eyed forager in question was blissfully unaware of anything that had happened. She had been navigating her way through the forest at a comfortable pace. The silence allowing her thoughts to run wild. For once not in a bad way. She did not fully understand it but since her talk with Naruto that very morning she had been feeling giddy and could not help but return to the woodsman.

While winter provided a distinct lack of anything edible she had managed to find some feathers left over by an unlucky bird and a lucky fox. Her bag was half filled with red tipped brown feathers for making new arrows from. She would have found some suitable twigs for the arrow shafts but as she did not know exactly what to look for and the girl had decided to leave them left them behind.

As she navigated the forest. Hinata caught herself humming a happy tune of sorts; completely made up but she was soon enthralled by the cold breath in front of her. A gust of wind blew in a single wave. Rattling the branches violently and rushing up the Hyuuga. She noticed and used her arm to shade her eyes from the wind. Her hair caught in the gale and kicked around wildly before settling messily back on her shoulders. The first thing she noticed was the silence. The atmosphere seemed to darken and suddenly she did not feel comfortable being in the forest any more. A sickly crawl up her spine which told her to move and move quickly. Not quite fear, that would be rational, but desire to be somewhere else.

After her lungs hitched on the new-found atmosphere her mind came across something else new… Was there laughter in the wind?

She quickened her pace. At first it was a forced march, but she quickly found herself scrambling onwards towards the cottage ahead. She knew it meant safety. Naruto was the strongest person she knew. Ironically, she could now believe the old stories of men from her colony. They showed how strong and protective they were. Like bears but also just like bears they were cuddly and protective. They only wanted what was best for their cubs after all.

Something was behind her wasn't it? The forager dared not to confirm her suspicion but instead leaped over a fallen tree and bolted over the roots of the forest. Her heart raced, and her stomach pitted as she wove in between the trees. The floor seemed to raise up a bank, so she immediately grabbed the nearest roots and pulled her light frame up to the top. She was near to salvation she was sure of it.

Whatever it was it had been fast approaching and climbing had only slowed her down. Her body screamed to keep going but she knew she would have to slow it down somehow. Pulling her bow off her shoulder the Hyuuga loaded an arrow and pulled back just as she turned to aim.

Arrow released.

A dull thwack as the arrow bit into a tree.

Hinata finally realised that she was alone.

Whatever was after her had been pure fear. Why did she suddenly fear the forest so much? The girl lowered her bow. Eyes focused of the forest she just ran from in case whatever spooked her was not just a figment of her imagination. A look of confusion scrunched up her face. And that was when she noticed a column of black smoke raising above the leafless canopy.

"Is that-" Her sentence ended with a scream as the floor caved in from under her feet.

It took five minutes for Hinata to recover. Falling flat on her back was painful as she stared up at the knot of roots that had replaced the roof of the house she had apparently climbed. The only light came from the hole she fell through but that was more than sufficient to illuminate her surroundings.

Testing her body for pain she quickly thanked the gods that she felt nothing bar the dull ache on her ass. It was a numbing thought to realise that if she _had_ broken something she would have been trapped here. The entrance apparently had a tree blocking it as the forest literally engulfed that building.

The pale-eyed woman sat up and soaked up her surroundings. She was in a bedroom of sorts. A small cot in the corner had looked like the ones she remembered from her own childhood when she lived in the capital city. The walls were once painted although pretty much all of the paint had been peeled off by now and she could only guess at the colour. The room also had a collection of rotten toys in the corner. Their fur mottled and covered in moss and their shapes only just recognisable as a rabbit. By the wall there was a wooden chest of draws which appeared to be sturdy along with a wardrobe where the doors had fallen out leaving a pile of mushy clothes in its wake. There was easily enough space for a larger bed but as of yet none was present.

Hinata looked up at the hole she fell through. The celling itself was made out of the tree roots which had preserved the shape of the building while the original structure had long since rotted away. Making a quick plan to escape Hinata pulled herself up and checked that she had not lost anything. Stepping over towards the set of draws.

As she took another step a sickening crunch of glass was heard under her foot. Sucking her teeth in cringe she carefully removed her foot from whatever she stepped on. A small frame made of wood with a glass front was found. Hinata bent over and picked it up. Careful to not cut herself on the glass shards.

She brought it up to the light and looked at the picture that was preserved. Although faded and damaged she could make out two people. One wore a beautiful white kimono dress and a tiara while the other wore black attire that looked formal, but she could not make out much more. She was about to put the picture down when she noticed that the belly of the woman in white was very bloated. Her stomach pressed out from her dress more than she had ever seen a woman before. Another five minutes spent wondering if this was what women used to look like or it was just her. She had seen pictures of how things used to be but none of the women there were as bloated as the one in the picture.

Carefully she hid the image away in her bag pack and pulled the furniture under the hole she fell through. She had propped the wardrobe against the drawers and climbed on. The draws groaned and protested but the wardrobe was dangerously wobbly. It shook as she put her weight on the ledge to pull herself up. Hinata, all things considered, was very light and had she not been the wardrobe would have splintered at the mere suggestion of being climbed.

Taking a split second to balance herself on the wooden platform the girl slowly stood up and reached up for the root that surrounded her exit. Any sudden movements and the entire thing shook. Almost there. Her fingers touched the root. A horrible snap of wood under her. The wardrobe was not going to last any longer.

One last jump and she grabbed onto the ledge just as the wardrobe was kicked from under her. Splintering in hundreds of damp chunks of wood. Now she was dangling but at least she was not back on the floor.

Sweat poured down her brow as she tried to pull herself up. She could feel her arms beginning to weaken and her palms grew more and more slippery. With a heave of effort, she managed to get her other hand onto a root. Daring herself to let go and find another hold further out of the hole. First attempt was a success. Second attempt… Her hand reached out for something, anything, but she spent a split second too long and her arms gave in. Skin getting burnt off from the friction under her grip. She would have fallen back down had something not caught her at the last second.

"That was a close one. Making a habit of this?" A familiar voice asked. His arm gripped on tightly; even hurt her wrist as she was yanked away from gravity. "Hang on I'll pull you out."

The sensation was new to Hinata, having been unconscious the last time he picked her up. She felt weightless and seemed to float up through the hole. Naruto kept pulling until she was able to get a foothold and they both fall back. Hinata on top of Naruto. Both hot, both panting for air and both staring into each other's eyes as if they found the most beautiful object in the world.

She leaned in and while keeping eye contact and her lips connected. It had only been a few hours since they last saw each other but the kiss was something they both grew to miss. Tasting his flesh in her lips she lightly moaned involuntarily. Pleasure swept through both of their bodies as they decided that a second kiss would be nice, this time with eyes closed. Hinata pulled away with a deep breath. A small string of saliva still connected the pair of the pair of lips.

"That was… wow… for s-saving me again." Hinata managed in between breaths. Her heart was racing, and she could feel Naruto's was trying to match pace. He slowly reached around her back and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Thank you… I needed that."

"Ano?"

"Jiraiya left."

"What? Why?" Hinata was startled at the news.

"Orochimaru offered him something he couldn't refuse. Told me to wait for him." He spoke solemnly. The blond knew what this meant, and he would be lying if he believed the old man would return soon.

"N-Naruto? I'm here for you."

Said boy let out a heavy sigh. "Were it so easy." He looked up at Hinata followed his gaze. The black smoke raising high above the very mountains that surrounded the forest. "Winter is going to be bad this year too. I trust you felt that wind too?"

Hinata bit her lip and nodded. It had honestly scared her because it felt so unnatural. That and whatever chased her before.

"Four years ago, was the last bad winter. I was very fortunate that your village still had a lot of the old city to take apart for resources, but I noticed that has since been used up."

"S-so they'll be coming out more. S-so things will g-get harder, but I'll still b-be there for you."

"They'll lynch you if they find out."

"They'll lynch me anyway!" Hinata snapped back a little louder than intended. Naruto instantly silenced himself.

"W-why do you think I prefer th-the f-forest? At least I c-can trust it t-to be dangerous and t-trust you t-to not be. Back there I hated those voices, the blame, the mistrust a-all because I-I d-didn't fit in. I'm happy here. I'm happy with you." She ended her speech with a smile despite tears had fallen down her cheek and plashed against the fur that Naruto wore. He allowed her words to sink in with quiet contemplation.

"Hinata is that you?" A distant voice called out. The couple snapped out of their musings and looked towards where the noise came from. Hinata had the better vantage point on Naruto's lap but Naruto noticed that Hinata clearly did not recognised the voice and instantly had put his guard on.

"Hinata! Where are you?"

Silently the couple untangled themselves. Well as Hinata was as quiet as a few weeks learning to hunt could make her. But at least whoever was searching for her was not right on top of them.

"I'll see you again. Go." Naruto whispered and gave a quick kiss on the lips before he navigated himself into nearby cover. His fur camouflage making him practically invisible once Hinata lost track of him. Meanwhile the girl barely made it down the bank when she came face to face with a tall woman with black hair, a purple kimono which stood out from the surrounding snow and a pair of bright crimson eyes.

"Ah there you are Hinata."


	13. Chapter XIII

**Nothing more frustrating than the website to log you out just as you finish the edits... so this is the second shot at posting this chapter. Lots are happening here but I don't want the plot to simply just thicken, but instead have a pay off. I have enough pieces in place now at least. Don't worry more Naruto action next chapter. For now, have some nightmare fuel.**

 **pvcvillanueva: She is still fairly minor but will probably get more screen time soonish. It is the issue with having many characters.**

 **QueenDeadPool: Hope I meet your expectations.**

 **theeyethatwatchesoverall: It indeed does thicken. Hope it pays off for you though.**

 **My beta reader has decided to have a life so she's not been helping recently. Regardless I have been reading things carefully so please rate and review.**

"It is with great displeasure to announce the passing of our council women. Lady Biwako, Lady Choza, and Lady Inoichi have devoted their lives into seeing this colony flourish into the success we enjoy today. May their lives be forever remembered, and their teachings continued to every woman."

"Regrettably, the news does not get better from this point forward. While we should thank the goddess that the whole colony did not burn down we still have lost our stores. Therefore, I must place the village into a state of emergency." The crowd started to talk amongst themselves. The younger were still naive to the implications of such an emergency but to those with experience they knew nothing good will come of it.

The woman making the announcement was none other than Damariss herself. Keeping her balance with a cane firmly in her right hand. Bandages still covered her face. One thing she did miss was not having to make public speeches. Her voice was horse and her formal way of speaking would often alienate certain people. Not to mention her lack of appearance lead to many not trusting her.

"Surely there's still something left in the storage?" A woman called out. Instantly feeling threatened by the turn of events.

"Unfortunately, the fire started in our store rooms."

"How did that happen?"

"Who did it?"

"Are you sure it was-"

And so, the questions kept on being thrown at Damariss who tried to quieten them down. But the crowd proved to be too much to handle. She had not yet earned the reputation or respect from the masses. That would need to change.

"Quiet!" A deep voice bellowed out from behind Damariss. While she remained un-phased; the crowd nearly jumped out of their skin. The owner of such a voice was a large figure in a black cloak with red clouds. Her eyes were the first thing everyone noticed. Almost with a glow and coloured bright yellow. The 'whites' were both badly bloodshot and the surrounding skin was a pale grey. Thin lines of sewn wire traced the skin of whoever this woman was. Aside from these details not much more than her face was given in identity. She then promptly retuned a thick mask to cover her features and only left her eyes to glare at anyone who dared to challenge her.

"Thank you Kaku."

"Should have better control over you subordinates. I'll talk to you after I have talked to my partner." She spoke with a very annoyed tone in her voice.

Damariss returned her attention to the colony. "I am demanding the emergency protocols. We do not have enough foragers willing to leave the great walls, but our situation will be dire if we sit by idly. Therefore, you are to leave and start gathering resources. Those who do not help cannot be fed. Am I to be understood?"

Several unsure calls came back. The older colonists were all looking nervously while the younger were all looking lost. Outside the walls was taboo for a reason and the danger was something few could stomach.

"I'm not going!" One woman called back. Damariss sighed as more women decided that their colony is sufficient because it always had been. The elder nodded and one her guards readied her crossbow.

"We've always had enough here can't you just ask the capital city for a replacement."

"I tried to break it gently but this time I will insist. You will leave, and you will come back with firewood and food. I do not care for the dangers outside. These are my demands and I expect you all to meet them." Inwardly she cracked a smile. The scare tactics seemed to have worked so far. Maybe she could get used to this power.

"Hinata. As her role of head huntress, you are to oversee the coordination of resource gathering." The elder made eye contact with said girl who shifted uncomfortably. Nearby shocked stares watched her. Further afield threats and disgust were being thrown around. They clearly did not appreciate being forced to interact with the village weirdo.

If Hinata had the foresight she would have known their hatred was a blessing in disguise as her work load would be ironically lighter. For the poor girl had no idea what was just lumped on her. Kurenai squeezed her shoulder in attempts of comforting Hinata but in reality, she only sent a cold shiver down her back.

"You got this. Don't worry I'll be able to help. I used to organise foraging trips all the time."

"Th-thanks." Hinata softly said.

Damariss left after dismissing the whole village, mentioning how if they were to pull together and worked hard then the storage would be full within a week and everyone will be able to rest easily as a reward. She walked off the platform in front of the Hokage tower, still standing although all the additions over the years were now burnt to ruins. She retired into her new office with a sigh.

"You didn't mention that this winter was going to be bad." Kaku offhandedly mentioned. She was behind Demariss' desk and was reading the report she had been drawing up for the capital.

"Although the great Lady Jashin will get her blood one way or another." Hydi chanted. Seemingly very happy. "The search will draw out those men like rats from the sewer."

"While I'd hate to admit it; Biwako was very good at maintaining moral. I told her over and over we needed more." She clicked her tongue. "I am guessing the capital won't provide us with anything."

"The whole point of these colonies was to provide the capital with food and other resources. Not to be more of a burden. That said your standard shipment is scheduled to arrive at the end of the month… if the snow could hold off until then."

"In that case… Is it possible for an extra shipment of colonists?"

"Hmph we shall see."

"Anything else I need to know about?" Damariss let out a hiss of annoyance. She was beginning to see the Akatsuki as a threat to her rule. They were good, making sure her village would have to rely on them for the foreseeable future. Be it reliant of materials or providing colonists where were poorly educated and lacked basic equipment.

"Yes. It is to inform you that you not only have a male problem but our old nemesis Orochimaru the betrayer is nearby as well. I can feel her foul chakra. He has also taken on the appearance of a woman as well which only further complicates matters should he approach anyone."

"Jashin demands his death but we must be patient. He is certainly tricky to deal with and will only appear when it best suits him."

"You are to keep vigilant. I will deal with him when the time comes."

Two days had passed since the emergency had been called. Damariss had been less than pleased about the motivation of the village and had started ordering mandatory shifts. The city seemed more hostile than it did mere weeks ago with half of the population now openly following Jashin as their new deity. They would often sit and listen to Hydi with religious enthusiasm. It took one word from her lips all the followers rushed out into the wilderness to gather what they could out of the forest like an army of ants. Hydi couldn't help but openly mock Damariss for her failings.

This left the other half of the population. Whom were considered to be normal amongst themselves.

* * *

"Stupid Kashina running late." Sasuki grumbled to herself. She was found pacing around in her warmest clothes. Biting back the bile after accepting she got the idea to wear something warmer because of Hinata. Always Hinata, always had the upper hand and it was unfair in her eyes. "I guess we should just go without her."

"You think we would get to fight any men?" Kurama spoke a little too cheerfully. Making the other girls in their group shift uncomfortably. To either flank of Sasuki was none other than Ino and Sakura who looked disheartened that they were all heading to the outside, away from the safety of their village. Along with a couple others that Sasuki had neglected to learn their names of.

"Why are you all following me?" Sasuki snapped at her followers.

"Because you're awesome." They replied in Unison. Minus Kurama who grumbled about not finding Hinata before she left.

Sasuki clicked her tongue out of annoyance before going back to her thoughts. ' _Now is my chance to get that boy under my thumb. If he could beat Kurama in a fight I am sure I'd stand a chance of ruling this place.'_

"You have done well providing the perfect distraction my young Uchiha." A voice on the wind pulled Sasuki out of her musings.

"Did you say something Kurama?"

"Hn? Nah."

"I'll be sure to pay attention to my Uchiha." Sasuki heard and shuddered just as another gust of icy wind blew past her.

"Never mind. Let's just go." As she spoke snow started to slowly flurry down from the heavens. Their party had subconsciously huddled together a little closer.

"What are we looking for Sasuki?" Sakura asked. She was looking around now that they had left the main gate. Dark trees clogged up every other view only to be coated in a thin layer of fluffy snow. Several foot prints appeared to come and go as well as the odd animal tracks.

"I'll tell you when we find something." She replied. The others taking her words at face value. After all they just assumed she knew what she was doing.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I have to ask you to do this for me." Hinata spoke in a whispered tone. Her two friends had closed the gap so only the three of them could hear each other. Chiho was busy listening to every word from Hinata while Kanna was making her displeasure known.

"I get that your hands are tied but this is too risky."

"I am also correct in assuming not many groups have been listening to you."

Hinata sighed in defeat. "Ano… forget it. I-It was a big ask. I tried to keep people away from the west side. B-but those who d-didn't ignore me th-thought I was hiding something there."

"If the stories about men were even only half right I am sure he can look after himself." Kanna reassured. "You're really worried about him aren't you."

Hinata simply blushed and played with her forefingers.

"While I don't believe it is wise to contact him given we will have Sai and our team leader, Mizuki, is also making an appearance. Elders orders. But we will still accept the area you proposed for us to forage."

"Th-thank you. Really it means a lot that I can trust you two."

"How many times do we need to say it? We have your back." Kanna hugged Hinata who returned the motion. As they stood back they noticed the two Akatsuki members making their way across the plaza.

"So this is the colony's bad luck charm? Not much to look at." Hinata looked down in response. ' _So they believe them I take it.'_

"Look at your elders when they are speaking to you." Hydi snapped.

"Interesting. You use the bow and yet it isn't the most civilised weapon. They are not provided from us nor do we train you to use them." Kaku muttered in a low voice. "Speak, tell me why you carry one?"

"Why it's not against the law." Kanna defended but that earned her a fearsome glare.

"I was not speaking to you girl. Go! You are dismissed before I find myself punishing you for answering back." Kanna was ready for anything but was not expecting the air to become thick and heavy. She would have said something else to help Hinata but quickly found herself staring at death itself.

"Ano, i-it's a-alright K-Kanna." Hinata took a deep breath and looked to the Akatsuki members. "B-bows are easier t-to c-carry and m-maintain. A-arrows are-"

"-Enough I don't have time for your stuttering. I do not care how you can use one. only if you can use it well." Kaku silenced her immediately. "Come with me. I need someone who can actually hunt."

Her mouth remained open as if to ask why. One look from those sickly yellow eyes and she closed her lips only to look back at her friends. Chiho gave a slight nod of reassurance. Hinata finally agreed but refused to look her in the eyes again.

"We will be seeing you Hinata." The stoic girl mentioned before pulling Kanna away to find Sai.

* * *

"Ack, damn this cold." Ino shivered and tried to warm herself up by rubbing her sides. They had been spending the better part of the past two hours meandering around the forest. First, they tried to hack a tree down and use that for wood. After all, they were in a forest. But their knives proved to be quite ineffective. Having one bent beyond use already.

They had finally gotten around to learning the names of the new additions. Who were Shigeko and Cho. Shigeko wore her hair in a pony tale and typically wore a very casual hoodie and tights complete with a skirt. Although she had the sense of wearing a fur lined coat and thicker leggings before venturing out of the village. Her friend, Cho, was large to put her politely. Very jolly and often found something to comment on and chuckle over. Her size also keeping her warmer than the rest of the party. She wore similar attire to her friend although while Shigeko wore greens, blues and blacks. Cho was considerably brighter in her choice of oranges and reds.

Sadly, they proved to be just as lazy as Sasuki feared. Apparently, their guardian had other plans and so left them to their own devices. Asumi was the name Sasuki had heard. She had known of the woman before but had no opinion of her. Though she did note down that Cho and Shigeko were surprised that she did not join them.

"We haven't found anything for ages. You think it's all under the snow?" Sakura commented, trying to break the silence.

"Do that and you'll have frostbite within the hour." Shigeko replied. She was quickly getting the reputation of being a know-it-all having previously pointing out the futility of hacking the trees with knives long before the theory was tested.

"We could try setting up traps?" Sakura tried again.

"Mmm gathering food would be nice." Cho said, earning a smile of Sakura that finally someone agreed with her. "You know any good traps?"

"Not with the materials we have. Seriously, how on earth did our ancestors make whole cities out of stone with only knives."

"Apparently they could make millions of dishes back then. Honestly, anything the heart desired."

"Or the stomach." Ino whispered, causing Sakura to laugh. Cho shot a glare that could fell trees. Needless to say, this had forced the party into a new icy silence. Only broken by the groaning of the branches in the wind. Their eyes started to nervously look around.

"W-We should turn back." The rosette suggested.

"Y-yeah it is getting late." Ino chimed in.

Sasuki sighed. "Fine, then go. I'll stay out." ' _I can't be beaten by Hinata. I can do this. I can be the_ _best_.'

"Urm who was meant to be keeping track of the way home?" Cho asked. She had already agreed with Shigeko to turn back when they realised that each tree looked like the last.

"It all looks different from this angle." Shigeko agreed. "Wasn't Kurama supposed to be keeping track of landmarks. Kurama?"

For someone with bright red hair she was suddenly became very difficult to spot in the snowy forest.

"Kurama!" Cho shouted.

"Over 'ere I found something cool!"

The party followed the sound until they found a dip in the forest. Kurama was busy in the process of pulling a door apart. The building appeared to be dug into the surrounding terrain although if they had known it, it would have been more accurate to say the wood grew around it. The red head was already pleased with the wood she managed to obtain but her excitement was barely contained with the dark entrance in front of her. Once their eyes got used to what they saw they could see a reasonable amount of the building was still standing. That and there was a second building next to it. Although the roof had caved in on that house.

"Wonder how many of these we actually missed." Cho asked as she looked around the forested. Trees blocking their sight to only a few feet in any direction. "Though it is starting to get dark quickly. I don't think we could safely make it back home."

"We can stay in here tonight." Sasuki said. Having stayed in buildings much like this one before.

The building they entered may have been dark but consisted of three rooms. A hallway leading to a ruined set of stairs that lead up to a hole in the forest. That was the entrance. But the other two rooms apparently still had enough furniture to still identify what these rooms were used for. The front room was a living room. Although no one wanted to test the sofas because they looked like they were more slimy than comfortable. Tables, chairs, cabinets filled both rooms and in the back room a fitted kitchen complete with a rusty looking sink and oven. For Ino, Sakura, Shigeko and Cho this would have been the first time they found an un-raided house. It showed in their eyes which were full of wonder.

Curiosity took the better of them and they wasted no time exploring each and every cupboard. Sasuki apparently was the only one who knew how to start a small fire. Being taught by Kashina turned out to be beneficial. Which grinded against Sasuki's gears to no end.

Kurama simply stayed by the fire and watched it as if it was the most beautiful thing in her life. This unnerved Cho who noticed her fascination was more than just passing interest. Right after the small fire was established the only light was now the orange flickering glow. The temperature felt like it was dropping, and all six girls decided silently that it would be best to huddle up together.

No one spoke, well Sakura muttered about needing a bath, but the excitement of finding so much quickly tired out the girls. Slowly, one by one, they fell asleep.

* * *

The wild lands outside the safety of the colonies could never be described as a place devoid of life. Creatures and beasts inhabit the area and rule over the land for as far as the mind could perceive. The forest held many secrets, sometimes supernaturally so. One being that the male gender are not as eradicated as the Akatsuki would have liked. However, these males were often closer to creatures than to human beings. After all the stories, and indeed occasional encounters, were not from unfounded, fabricated myth. The truth is far worse once you get a glimpse of it. And to Hinata there was something clearly wrong with what she saw as Kaku described Hinata's task as they walked.

Up ahead was a small light attracting the uncomfortable pair. Like moths to the flame they approached. Sitting around a camp fire were three figures wearing thick brown furs and cuddling onto their weapons like they were waiting for something to attack. At any one time, two were keeping a look out while the third tended to the fire and appeared to be cooking a creature crudely on the ashes itself. At first nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Until Hinata noticed their larger stature, rougher features, larger hands and wiry hair. These were certainly men, but they felt different. Naruto and Jiraiya had a certain air of intelligence and understanding. While the group here were grunting like boars. Lacks their air of elegance.

"Disgusting isn't it. To think there was a whole hovel not too far from here. Any one of you ladies could have accidently stumbled on their nest and suffer fates worse than death itself."

The masked woman turned to face the now very unsure Hinata. Her words caught in her throat as she clearly wanted to leave.

"Of all the women in your colony, you've shown the most promise. There are only three of these wretched creatures left and once we they are dealt with I can continue on my mission."

Hinata glanced over at the men then looking back into those putrid eyes. This Kaku looked less human the more Hinata looked at her. Her skin was deathly pale and moved in unnatural ways like a wire was pulling something somewhere on her face.

"Stop wasting time." She stood behind Hinata and refused to give her any lee-way. With a shaking hand Hinata slowly pulled her bow off her shoulder. She felt sick. This whole situation made her skin crawl and despite the warm furs she wore she felt icy cold.

"Pp-please d-don't m-make m- k-k-kill." Hinata begged. Her voice strangled into nothing more than a bare whisper.

"You've killed animals before. There is no difference."

A wobbly arrow fell onto her knuckle but the Hyuuga simply could not find it in herself to pull the string back. The arrow would have probably missed anyway at the rate she was shaking.

"Tsk pathetic." Kaku shoved Hinata to the floor. As she fell, she noticed metallic wires seemed to crawl out of the sleeves and curl to attention where Kaku's hands should be.

Then, in a burst of speed that Hinata had never seen before she leaped from tree to tree. Covering the distance of thirty yards in a matter of seconds. No, in three leaps. The first man, who was currently tending the fire, had no idea an attack was about to happen. Kaku's heavy boots smashed into his face. The sheer momentum stomping the head of the man into the hardened ground below. Arms and legs twitching unnaturally.

The second man was apparently the bravest of the group. With an animalistic roar he plunged his spear into the side of Kaku. His face quickly turned to disappointment as he could not pull his spear free to get a second strike. His disappointment only lasted for a split second before his face turned to sheer terror. Wires erupted from the right sleeve of the black cloak and ran through him in a cluster of thin bloodied spears.

The third was probably the least lucky. Having scrambled to his feet he tried to run away. He barely got three steps away from the sheer brutality of Kaku when a snare of wire lashed out and curled around his neck. A quick yank brought him to the floor and with pained screams he continued to struggle as Kaku dragged him to her feet.

Hinata vomited there and then. The whole clearing was now deep red and the smell of human flesh reached her nose. The sound of the man screaming will haunt her, she was sure of it. However just as Hinata looked up from the pool of bile she saw just in time for a large man with white hair cut the offending limb with an axe. Allowing the wild man to scramble free and get the wires off his neck. Leaving a bloodied red ring around his cut flesh. Sparing no time to look at who saved him he turned and simply ran off into the forest. He would be screaming in terror if he could, but those wires likely did more damage than simply cut his neck.

' _Is that… Jiraiya?'_ Focusing on the fight at hand Jiraiya had somehow made the ground suddenly rise up in a pillar and struck Kaku square in the chest. Crushing her between earth and tree. Celebration was short lived as a sinew of wire burst from the crumbling stone. Jiraiya managed to catch it and twist it away from him but that only prevented him from dodging further attack.

A Second arm of wire broke free and darted towards the aged man. Rock seemed to form around his free hand and he punched the offending wire away. But to his surprise tendrils of wire wrapped around his summoned gauntlet and pulled him off balance.

"I knew you were in the area. Jiraiya." The voice sounded a mix of metallic and hatred. No longer human by any means and as the last of the stone pillar crumbled to the floor it revealed a figure in a very torn cloak. Two writhing arms of wire sneaking out of both of her sleeves. "And it seems I have caught you. At long last."

Tearing fabric could be heard as a mass of wire started to slowly rise from the back of Kaku. The wire constantly coiling and threading past other wires endlessly tightening and moving. The only addition to the ball of metal was a single ceramic mask that stared lifelessly off into the sky. Just below it the wire formed a large mouth, one that smirked at Jiraiya. Rows upon rows of needle-like teeth presenting themselves to him.

"So, you finally show your true self Akatsuki." He gritted his teeth in the struggle to keep his balance.

The entire creature writhed in disgust. "Urrrllgghhh it talks." The large mouth spat shards of metal. Jiraiya winced as his cheek was cut open by a projectile of metal. Suddenly the entity started a low chuckle. And turned over to look over it's right 'shoulder'.

"Hinata…" The name was spoken almost with a purr. "You have a clear shot. Take it."

The sages' eyes widened in shock. He dared to glance over where the wire was looking at. Sure enough there was a standing girl with dark raven like hair. Wearing white fur that almost shone despite the low light of the fast approaching evening. Coppery metal of the various buckles and broaches gleaned from the last of the fires light. Her pale crystal eyes that captured Naruto's heart now stared in utter horror at what she was witnessing. Bow in her right hand and left slowly twitching towards her quiver. If it weren't for her hair or eyes, Jiraiya would have mistaken her for Kushina there and then.

The wire monster turned to face Jiraiya, chuckling to itself. "Did not expect me to have back up, didn't you?"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He heard those words that flew.

"Do it girl. Prove to me you are a hunter worthy of the Akatsuki. Kill this monster I have in my arms."

"Th-The". She paused and closed her eyes. Swallowing down her stutter she opened them with the determination and focus only seen in a warrior. "The only monster I see is you."

The wire's smirk immediately frowned as it turned to face the girl. Just in time for an arrow to soar through the air and strike the mask on the head of the beast. Like ceramic, the mask exploded into several sherds. The reaction was instantaneous. Jiraiya was dropped as an inhuman scream shook the forest. The mass of wire started to uncontrollably fling its arms around. Unfortunately, one metallic branch of wire collided with Jiraiya and smashed him against a nearby tree.

Metal seemed to untangle and fall to the floor lifelessly. The body of Kaku curled up on the floor. Head twisting like an owl to focus on the traitorous girl.

"You!" With a snapping sound coming from the body of Kaku as it started to crawl towards Hinata.

"You dare put the life of a _beast_ before your superiors? You dare try to undo _decades_ of careful planning just to save that _thing_?" Half metal half fleshy arms clawed at the terrain and closed the distance to Hinata. She tried in vein to shoot another arrow, but the shot veered wide.

"All you have done is proved that your whole colony clearly needs some re-education. Or, and an outcome preferable for me, eradication."

The Hyuuga tried to load a third arrow to her bow but a swipe from the inhuman arm made her lose her footing and fall backwards again. She dropped her weapon and scrambled away. Her back hit the cold bark of a tree. No escape, she pulled a knife out. The shiny copper steeling her hands.

"Men have ruined this world. We are rebuilding it. What part of that do you not understand you dumb pawn!" Finally, the body reached Hinata and used its arms to prop up what remained of the torso and tower above the girl. Sickly green eyes staring coldly at the girl who simply froze under them.

A Single wire slowly approached from the chest area. It stroked Hinata on the cheek.

"All is not lost. I can still use your flesh to repair the damage you dealt to me. After all that is all these colonies are good for. Resources." The voice also appeared to purr at that last word.

"N-Naruto… please… h-help." Hinata whispered as the wire painfully cut her down her cheek. Drawing deep crimson blood.

"Naruto? Oh, so the rumours are true. There was another creature who should not exist. It was through our negligence we allowed him to continue. So, I must thank you Hinata. You proved a…" The voice of the body suddenly devolved into pained gurgling.

"Hinata stab the heart!" Jiraiya's voice boomed. The spell that was cast finally broke and Hinata lunged forward and plunged her dagger to her wrist inside the creature before her.

Rotting flesh and rusting iron filled her nostrils while she shivered and felt the strangely cold breath from Kaku wheezing out in slow deep drags.

"You… you will… burn… for… choosing them. I-I will-"

"Fuck off my man bitch." Hinata coldly said as she twisted the dagger. Destroying the heart.

There was a moment of silence until Jiraiya lifted the lifeless body off the girl. He said nothing as he found a nearby seat to sit down and finally give the white-eyed girl some attention.

"You ok Hinata?"

"Jiraiya? I thought you had left."

The old man simply gave her a smile before coughing and chuckling at the same time. "So did I, but Orochimaru wanted me to keep close enough for some reason. Although why she led me here I have no idea. Good thing I came though."

"Wh-what w-was that?" The situation finally sunk in for the girl as she vomited again and noticed her hands where covered in unearthly brown blood.

"That. Was an Akatsuki member. Don't worry… well don't worry for now. Each are unique. You won't have to face old tentacles over there again."

"S-sh-It wanted me t-to kill those men b-before."

"Hmm interesting. I think they are trying to recruit you. I guess from their point of view you're different from the rest and therefore desirable."

"I wish I wasn't." Hinata sighed before sitting next to Jiraiya. After all, having spent a couple months around him she was just as comfortable conversing with him as she was to Naruto.

"Being different isn't a bad thing. Think about it. If you followed the crowd you would not have met Naruto."

"That's…"

"That's completely right. Ah you have no idea how many memories of Kushina you bring up."

"N-Naruto's mother?"

"I should probably tell you…"

"Ano?"

"About those 'men' you were told to kill."

Hinata just gestured for him to continue. Jiraiya was satisfied, he had her full attention.

"I don't know if you had noticed but there is something very much wrong with the creatures you saw. They used to be human a few generations ago, but they seem to have regressed since. You remember how I explored the world? Well I found that their intelligence, and incidentally their ability to use chakra, is steadily falling. You can even see it in Naruto and yourself. Although thankfully nowhere near as bad."

"Why are you telling me this? A-and not Naruto?"

"I guess there is no point. I have a feeling he is already well aware how messed up the world is. Though the Akatsuki are right about one thing. They are dangerous. I'd sleep better if I knew you and Naruto were capable to defend yourself from them. It is the main reason I kept him here. Ironically it was a little safer being near a colony of women than it would have been further afield."

"I I've seen pictures o-of the past… Everyone seemed so happy together. What happened?"

"Most of what you were taught was right. Someone released a disease that only affected the male population. Fear brought out conflict and the world descended into a war that destroyed everything. The only place I can think of relatively untouched is the land of the Rain. A distant place and I am sure you could guess why it's called Rain." Jiraiya stared into the middle distance. He tried to not let it show but some painful memories of survival were coming up.

"That's where I was born I guess. L-Like everyone." Hinata admitted.

"Yeah it is also home to the Akatsuki."

"S-so these men are the survivors?"

"Exactly. Although men like Naruto and myself are much more of a threat to the Akatsuki because we are healthier, more human."

"All the more reason to protect Naruto."

"Well said, you are very brave, and I am proud of who you've become. Oh, about what that ball of metal said… I think you made the right choice."

"Th-thanks… I hope I can be stronger. I-I still froze in fear." The Hyuuga looked away but her attention once more snapped to Jiraiya after his reply.

"You already are. Honestly, I'd be more worried if you weren't scared." Both simply gazed at each other. Jiraiya felt a warmth in his heart. One that could only be described as pride. Something he was sure that Hinata and Naruto felt when together. "Perhaps I can trust you and Naruto to sort out this mess. It's getting dark. Probably safer if we get to the cottage rather than back to your village."

* * *

Scrambling in the undergrowth. He could not sleep. Too focused on hiding and watching for any sign of danger. A twitch. A snap. Anything to indicate that the nightmare would just end. He wanted to wake up. He wished to be back home where it was warm and safe. Such things were beyond him now though.

The nightmare started just two days ago. They had found refuge in a large cave, hidden from view and he enjoyed how the morning sun shone through the entrance to their home. His family, tribe, and his friends lived all around him. But that day changed everything. A shadow blotted out the morning sun and a demon came.

They knew there was a hive of demons nearby. The rules were simple. Stay away. Fortunately the demons never hunted. It made living so much easier, after all, other tribes weren't so brave to even consider this rich valley as a home. But the stories told by their fathers and grandfathers of a demon in a black robe with red cloud spelled only death should they be encountered.

The first he knew of the cloaked demon was the screams. He turned just in time to see his wife impaled by long strands. He felt sick. He felt lonely. Then, he felt rage. Grabbing his spear, he ran at the monster which loomed over the entrance to their home. Two masses of wire hovering above the shoulders of the demon. Gleefully smiling at the destruction they caused. Leaping over the mangled body of his own brother he roared in pain and anger as he thrusted his spear straight into the lifeless eyes of one of the metallic creatures.

There was no time to celebrate as his father took a twisted arm of metal to the chest. His father was able to throw him out of the cave but after a poor landing, darkness fell on him.

He had barely been awake for half a day. Of which he had spent it believing it was just a bad dream or a worse joke. Oh, how wrong he was. Letting his guard down after setting up a small camp to weather off the night. He had now lost the two friends who had also survived the attack and had now found himself hiding in the undergrowth.

Movement. Quick. He wanted to get his revenge. If he could ambush the demon he could buy another shot at killing the thing. Leaping onto his legs and biting back the pain of his throat. He pasted himself to the trunk of a nearby tree and took deep breaths. Or as deep as he dared to go. Minutes ago, he found out the hard way as he inhaled too sharply and started to cough up blood.

First breath, Second breath. The footsteps came past his tree. Third breath. He turned to strike and only just managed to stop the blade from killing a friend he recognised. His eyes were wide in fear as he took two steps back the equally surprised male. Standing next to the newcomer was a woman whom he knew was married to the man.

The pair had the fortune of being out hunting during the attack although they returned to a graveyard only to spend the day looking for survivors. They both wore furs and had their bows at the ready. Only to drop them to help their friend. Who fell to the floor with a mix of sobbing and choking. The woman slowly noticed his neck and carefully brushed the fur that stuck to the gore off. With care she cleaned the wound with herbs she held on her person.

They seemed to have a brief conversation although the language lacked many words and consisted of many grunts and gestures with the hands and face. After a while the injured man simply nodded and they all looked miserable. The woman even gave a sob before burying her face in the shoulder of her loved one. Who in turn comforted her by stroking her hair and quietly saying 'shh'.

The two men nodded their heads and decided that those demons were to pay in blood.

An hour passed, and the world had finally become light enough to see properly. The cool air crisp on their lungs as they silently made their way through the forest. Ears strained to hear any potential dangers before they saw them and eventually their caution paid off. They heard voices. At first they were light like a sirens song but once they approached it turned out to be the language of the demons themselves. There emerging from the forest floor came six demons.

Only one issue… Demons were not supposed to hunt. Were they?


	14. Chapter XIV

**Wew things have been busy for me, graduated, learning to drive, sorted out my love-life. But now enough time has passed and I believe you've waited long enough for the next chapter. Truth be told I had hit the cursed writer block but I had rewritten sections so its now to my liking once more.**

 **Queendeadpool: hopefully this chapter will keep a hold of you.**

 **RavenShadow: Welcome to my writing. Yeah I wanted to see if I can improve my writing skills via fan-fiction. The connection to fallout was not part of my original thought to be honest. I was chopping wood in a forest when I came up with the story premise. But I like that description because it does suit the story well.**

 **Please keep on reviewing, feedback and questions are always welcome.**

Neither side moved. They stood to either side of the clearing and sized each other up. Whoever made the first mistake would give advantage to the other team. The six girls were terrified. Looking up to the three much larger figures. One looked female but the other two looked just as they were described in the stories. Hulking brutes that acted more like savage animals rather than human beings.

The three hunters eyed up the six with extreme caution. For all they knew each was a monster of metal and wire in disguise. Yet they lacked one thing indeed. The black cloak with red clouds. Such a detail suggested that they found six lesser demons. In addition, they had their arms full of old-god relics. Broken by their malicious intent to destroy the world further.

The penny finally dropped, and Sakura lost her nerve. Throwing the wood up into the air and turning to run away as fast as her feet could carry. First to move, first to be attacked. With well trained reflexes two of the hunters pulled their bows back and loosed the merciless arrows towards the pink haired demon. First arrow veered off wide. Striking a nearby tree with a dull thud due to being so quickly drawn. However, the second bit into Sakura's right flank, just above her hip. A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the forest and she fell to the floor. Briefly tried to pull on the arrow but the mere tough caused fresh flashes of pain. She could only scream louder.

Everyone dived for cover hiding from each other and waited for their next move. The two hunters kept up a shower of arrows until the third made a charge. He had found a decent enough club to wield and was confident enough he could strike down lesser demons. Since the arrowed kept the demons suppressed he was able to cover the distance. Leaping over the ledge that dropped down to where the demons were hiding. His first target. A large fat demon with rich brown hair and very colourful clothes which would never blend into the background. Likely the dangerous one because she clearly had no need for camouflage.

Ino, who was next to Cho but looking the wrong way because of Sakura had screamed when she noticed one man had replaced Cho next to her. A heavy blow across the head had knocked out the larger girl instantly. The blond jumped back and fell to the floor. Grabbing wildly at something to swing back at the man.

Fortunately, Kurama and Sasuki were fast on the mark. Shigeko did her part by deliberately distracting the other two hunters. Ultimately her strategy would have saved Ino's life as she dived back into cover as two arrows sailed past harmlessly.

Sasuki, her red eyes blazing noticed how the man was about to swing in a wide arc. She jumped right and dodged it but Kurama was not so luckily as the club hit with such force the branch snapped in half upon her side. Sasuki lunged with the dagger and the cold steel slid smoothly into the kidney of the man in front. He gurgled in pain before painfully doubling over and coughed up blood.

The second man who saw what had gone down dropped his bow and quiver by his wife and drew his own blade to attack. The knife was made of steel but had been polished and sharpened so often and for so long that it looked like a crude shiv at first glance but still long enough to skewer a body.

For Sasuki, time seemed to slow for her. Looking over at the hunters she could see the arrow come for her. It was child's play to simply set back and have the projectile miss completely. A surreal feeling to watch something that ought to be invisible to the eye to move so slowly she could see all the little imperfections in the wood of the shaft; the chiselled flint of the tip and the colour of the fletch.

"Enjoying your awakened eyes?" A cold voice spoke behind Sasuki's ear. She looked impassive having now become used to the strange woman appearing at different times.

"My Uchiha, there is more. Think of it as a gift for setting things in motion. I bet you can feel exactly what I mean. After all. It is in your blood." The voice ended and Sasuki could feel her presence blow away on the wind. Much to her surprise the world still moved as slowly as before. The whole conversation and the second man had only just reached the top of the ridge to leap down and join the fight. Kurama had not yet fallen to the floor although her face was scrunched up with intense pain. Sasuki's left hand reached up to her mouth. Making a ring out of her thumb and forefinger she took a deep breath and blew through her hand. A small jet of fire burst forth and caused the man to second guess his assault and slip up at the last minute to avoid the fire. He would still fall down the ridge but at least he would be in a heap instead of dangerous.

Sasuki's fire lasted for as long as it took for a pair of large hands to clasp around her throat and push her to the floor. The Uchiha chocked for air as the two thumbs pressed into her windpipe. All she saw was the wild and murderous eyes of a madman baring down on her own red eyes. His lips poured blood as his neck ruptured but his grip was iron. Sasuki wanted to scream. She wanted to push him off. She wanted to breathe. None of her wishes where granted.

Meanwhile Kurama had recovered. Just. Her body barely responded to her command, but she pushed past the pain barrier and forced to go on the assault with the second man before he could recover from the fall. She lunged with her own dagger but was deflected by his own parry. Her instincts told her to jump back but all she achieved was allowing him to start up.

The red head tried for a second attack but this time he grabbed her by the wrist and twisted. Her left arm punching at the chest. Usually to anyone who faced Kurama's punches they would be on the floor in a matter of seconds. But this time her opponent apparently shrugged her attack off. One after another, he refused to budge.

"Kurama duck!" Shigko called out. Being the only one not in direct combat she was able to spot a new figure run straight towards them. It was another large human wearing white and grey fur. Her first guess would have been 'Hinata' because of the fur she spotted during the glance before ducking below another arrow. The quiver on the new arrival also had arrows which were similar in colour to Hinata. Only Hinata did not have blond hair. Nor were her arms bare with that much metal gleaming in the morning light. She realised her mistake after the new person dived down with an axe and imbedded it deep into the chest of the man assaulting Kurama. Blood splattering the red head and the newcomer when he wrenched the weapon free from his flesh.

With ease the blond picked up the other man by the scruff of the neck and threw him across the dip they were fighting in. The man barely had enough time to stand when the axe divided the head from the shoulders in one clean swipe. Blood raining down and dying the snow a dark crimson.

"Naruto!" A distant voice warned. The blond seemed to respond to the name as he tried to dodge the arrow. Although he was fast he could not cheat the blow and it struck the right side of his chest. With a grunt he fell onto one knee.

Just as Naruto hit, a second arrow sailed through the air and impaled the woman in between her eyes. With a look of shock forever etched on her features she fell over backwards. The owner of the attack was much more recognisable as the raven-haired woman still held her bow firmly in a crouched position for a more accurate shot. Her face was bright scarlet and sweat made her hair stick to her forehead. Her chest would rise and fall heavily as if she had ran with all her might.

Naruto was perfectly aware of the situation and had already recovered to get out of the middle of the group of girls. They were injured yes, but so was he and Naruto had no desire to use lethal force. Unlike the women around him.

Sasuki was the first to break out of the stunned silence.

"It-It's you." She made a lunge for the blond who instinctively flinched back. Naruto knew it was time to leave as he glanced at Hinata who had the face of worry as her eyes twitched to the arrow imbedded in his chest. Crimson blood already dripping down and staining the snow underneath him. He could only return a shake of his head to tell her he was coping.

The last Uzumaki managed to crawl back from Sasuki and with a leap he was able to get back on his feet and run into the forest. It did not take him long to vanish completely from sight. Sasuki was quick on the chase.

"I'm not letting you go! You're mine!" leaving her party-members alone with the white-eyed beauty. She looked torn between chasing after Naruto and helping the people of her colony. But sure, enough her feet provided the answer as she got up and started to run back into the tree-line.

"Wait! Hinata!"

She stopped just before she was out of view. Her back visibly tensed up as he slowly turned to face Shigeko who had finally caught up what had just transpired. She stood with the morning sun behind her back which darkened her slightly behind her spiked pony-tail. One notable feature was the face of worry she held when looking at Hinata.

"No. You aren't going to just run off. You called his name. You know about that creature. And you are going to sit down and tell me exactly what the fuck has been going on."

"B-b-ut S-Sasuki…"

"Sasuki can take care of herself." Shigeko misinterpreted Hinata's concern.

The Hyuuga gave the forest one last look before she sighed heavily. She looked down at the ground by Shigeko's feat and pressed her forefingers together.

"S-so what do you want t-to find out?"

"Not to get in the way of your domestic but I am in a lot of pain right now." Kurama's voice called out from down the pit. She lay still with har arms gently holding her ribcage. The two uninjured girls realised there were more important things at stake as they dived to Kurama's side.

"Heh forget me, the pink banshee is bleeding still." Her wearily pointed towards the unconscious rosette who had screamed herself exhausted. Hinata instinctively reached her one of her pouched and brought out some bandages. She quickly pulled out the arrow and set about wrapping up Sakura.

Meanwhile she heard Shigeko mutter something along the lines of 'shit' as she inspected her friend, Cho. "Hinata, any more bandages? I must admit it's good someone here is well prepared." The woman continued with a bit of distain in her voice.

"He isn't a bad person you know." Hinata mentioned as she tossed the reel of bandage.

"Person? Hinata they are not people."

"No. _They_ are not people. He saved me twice and now he's saved you all. Would a monster do that?"

"Yeah but-"

"He's shown me more care and love than anyone at the colony."

"You see-"

"And here you are wanting to just kill someone because you were told to… no not told to, taught to." Hinata spoke with venom in her words. It sounded threatening coming from a girl who Shigeko only had heard as a very quiet and timid voice from before.

"Plus Shigeko, he was so awesome in that fight! What were we doing when he literally leaped in and in one quick sweep saved out asses." Kurama butted in. She hadn't moved and so it looked like she was talking to the sky. "Such strength… I… I want to taste it." Then the red head gave an unnerving giggle. "That sounded strange yet… I dunno how else to describe it." She finally muttered.

Hinata snapped her head and felt a huge pang of jealously like a sickly wave through her stomach. She knew he was innocent and the Hyuuga was still unaware of sex appeal, but the fact of the matter was she was talking about someone who Hinata had strong feelings of love for so she could not let that comment slide.

A thump from Hinata's basket which was roughly thrown by the side of Kurama. She silenty approached and heavily knelt by the giggling redhead. With a sharp poke the giggling girl broke into a cry of pain.

"What was that for?" She hissed.

"Broken ribs. You can't move until you're healed fully." Her voice was flat and void of emotion which made those who were listening shudder. She finally locked eyes with Shigeko who was making sure that Cho was comfortable. "You are not to tell anyone about who I know."

"Give me a reason why?" She retorted. Not appreciating the coldness in Hinata's voice.

"What do you think would happen if the elders, no, the Akatsuki found out about Naruto?"

While both were stuck glaring at each other. Shigeko decided to give that question a thought.

"They would stop at nothing until they find him and kill him. You said you loved him… no matter what that means it suggests you have some sort of investment in this male. So that means you are protecting him."

"Half right." Hinata sighed and visibly relaxed. "They would also kill all of us." That line grabbed their attention.

"What?" Kurama snapped.

"Why?" Shigeko echoed.

"I… I…" Hinata covered her mouth as the member made her feel sick. "Oh god…" She made retching noises but not substance came out. From having not eaten anything since the night before. Now her body visibly shook, and the reaction alone made the girls around her gaze in worry.

"Th-they are the real m-monsters."

"Who are? The Akatsuki?"

"U-under th-their robes… i-it's not e-even human." The white-eyed girl took a deep drag of air and tried to calm herself down. "S-sorry this happened l-last night."

Shigeko finally laid back and looked up at the morning clouds which sailed by at some speed. "In that case, we were attacked but managed to beat back our pursuers long enough for you to come to our aid. Shit what about Sasuki? She's been acting weird too and now she's just ran off after that male."

"Naruto."

"Right Naruto… But what are we going to do about her?"

"Mn I should go after her. I don't want Naruto to be put into an uncomfortable situation with her again?"

"Again? Never mind, I can't let you go just yet I need your help to carry everyone. And to snap Ino out of her daze." With a simple hand gesture, Hinata's attention rested on a blond girl who just stared out into the middle-distance. "Besides, we got a little lost."

* * *

"Shit." He cursed as his body weakened at the wrong moment and his legs felt like jelly. He had just practically fallen into a trunk of a tree. He had finally had enough of the arrow which stung sharply each time Naruto knocked the projectile. Naruto stretched up and took a deep breath in. His left hand reached for the arrow and in one quick motion he ripped the projectile out of his body. Sucking his teeth in pain as he tried to apply pressure to his injury.

Some distance away Naruto could hear that woman screaming 'Come back here. You're mine!'

Naruto frowned as he honestly had no idea what her fascination with him was aside from jealousy perhaps. She honestly scared him because unlike the others ho would simply kill him, that one had other uses for Naruto clearly. It was the unknowns about this one essentially.

* * *

The Uchiha was looking around nervously. She had been cursing the fact she had lost sight of that male for more than a second and now trees faced her in every direction. The uniform white and brown and grey of the winter forest blending all recognisable shapes into a wall which may as well be miles deep.

"Where are you?" She finally called out in defeat as she sat on a tree trunk and shivered as a gust of wind blew through all the clothes. "Why does it have to be so cold?" she glumly asked herself.

"Now my Uchiha, are you to give up so easily? You forget the gifts your blood provides." That sickly and icy voice whispered from behind.

"Are you always watching me?" Sasuki's voice wobbled slightly which betrayed her fear.

"See it as insurance. You're important and it simply won't do to have you lost in the forest forever."

"Ok so what do I do?"

"Think, you've done it before so many times."

"Oh..." With that the certain air of oppression was gone and Sasuki was able to breath once more. The girl had not even realised that she was holding her breath and her hands shook from the experience.

With a shake of her head she managed to push such thoughts away and closed her eyes. Once she opened them again the world was instantly sharper. As if it moved in slow motion, allowing her to spot every little detail. There. The small patch of crimson red that stained the snow. That male had been through here.

* * *

Thankfully Naruto had managed to stop the bleeding. His whole front had bee coated in the thick and sticky layer of his own gore. 'hm the wolves would have a field day.' He mused as he walked through the forest. Despite being taller and heavier than most creatures he still walked with a silent step. The snow hardly crunched, and he was careful to not let his axe scrape against anything on the forest floor.

Enough time had passed for Naruto to enjoy the silence and to reflect on events passed. His mind trailed to what his parents would have thought about Hinata. He was sure Jiraiya would have been right and they would have loved her. He smiled at the thought. His mum would have probably forbidden her to return to the village and to live with Naruto, Hinata probably would not be able to get a word in sideways again Kushina. Minato would predictably fold too. Perhaps he should visit their shrine. After-all so much had been going on recently that he hadn't the time. Winter had been coming thick and fast and so Naruto had to make sure he had enough food and firewood stored for the winter. Soon it would start to become too dangerous to leave the cottage.

For the height of winter brought deep snow and biting winds that would chill a person in minutes not to mention it would be dark for most of the day. Giving daylight only mere hours before the sun sets behind the mountains once more. If you were to see the sun. For dark snow clouds typically covered the sky and prevented the sun from shining through.

"You're injured, aren't you?"

"Hn? You're not going to jump me?" Naruto looked up to see a woman with long straight black hair. She wore what looked to be dark tights under her knee length grey skirt and her blue jacket with grey fur lining around the hood. She wore leather boots which looked well worn. In fact, her entire attire was dirty, and the edges were flayed which indicated heavy or long-term use.

Sasuki shifted nervously. "S-sorry I get excited." She admitted, playing with her hair.

"So why exactly are you following me?" Naruto replied with suspicion evident in his voice.

"It's because I want you by my side… I dunno why I just think because you're so strong."

"No idea where you got that idea from."

"You can't see it? How hopeless everyone is? Hell Hinata was one of the-"

"- I don't appreciate you talking down about her. Are we done here?"

"No, no we aren't. I'm coming with you."

"Go away." Naruto said firmly which made Sasuki flinch before she stood fast.

"You aren't like the ones we hear about. I know you wouldn't just leave me lost in the forest."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort that claim but then shut it. She was right after all.

"After all, no one told you to jump in and save us."

"You're right. I heard a scream and I could not just sit by knowing someone was hurt."

"See this is exactly why I need you. I need to take over the colony and put a stop to how they treat men. You could live in peace at my side."

"I was living peacefully before." Naruto replied.

Sasuki was about to try and persuade him further but instead Naruto suddenly swivelled as if he had heard something and he immediately grunted to get down. He did so as he jumped down between the roots of the impressive oak trees. After Sasuki gave him a questioning look, Naruto simply tugged her by her ankle and pulled her into the slight dip below. Before she could make a any sound in protest he clasped his large hand around her mouth and prevented her from making any noise

Sasuki had no idea why Naruto had just pulled her down. She struggled for a moment but then realised he still allowed her to breath just not talk. By contrast the blond remained silent and still as he peaked around the tree trunk.

In the distance, noise just above the wind. Were footsteps.

"By Lady Jashin's graces we found the blood of that creature."

"How can you tell?"

"It's near where we heard that scream. It's the male demon. Claimed a poor soul to be devoured in worse ways."

"Worse ways?"

"Worse than death so I believe."

"A-and we are h-hunting that thing?"

"Of course, think of the glory."

"Think of the reward."

The conversation quietened down as one of them squeaked in excitement about another small splatter of blood in the snow. Fortunately, it would take them away from Naruto and Sasuki. It was fifty-fifty chance, and luck was on their side.

"Jashin… I've read that somewhere." He whispered to himself. As he released Sasuki from his grip. "Sorry about that. If they had seen you, they'd come up and find me. Why are there so many girls out in the forest?" 'And so close to my home.' He mentally added.

"I err… Our storage caught fire. We lost all our food and fuel."

"Fuck so that was what the fire was before."

"You saw?"

"Yeah, well the smoke." 'So that was what that snake meant by kicking the hornets nest.' He mused. Not enjoying the reality of the situation.

"And it'll make everyone more desperate very soon."

"Yeah err… I don't think I ever got your name." He gave a sheepish smile as he picked himself off Sasuki.

"Oh right, it's Sasuki."

"Hm, well aren't you gonna catch up to them before they get too far?"

She giggled. "No silly I am staying with you."

Naruto sighed heavily. "Fine, I guess you've been there before. Just no funny business alright?"

She squeaked in excitement and immediately leaped onto Naruto left arm and cuddled into it. It was awkward to say the lead as she did not understand the mechanics behind the cuddle, only that she felt like doing it. Naruto flinched instinctively because of past experience with this woman.

"Err… Sasuki could you let go? You're making me uncomfortable."

"Oh sorry." She let go. "But why? It felt good?"

"Not the point… I'll only let one person get that close and it is not you."

Sasuki gave a frown but decided not to challenge him because he had that 'don't try it' tone of voice.

* * *

While the day passed on and evening came once again there was a lone figure dressed in a black cloak with red clouds. Her head concealed with a straw had that had tassels to cover her face and the figure carried a scythe which wielded three blades. She did not care for the dark and continued her journey. She walked and walked seemingly lost until she had reached a spot which looked normal under the fresh snow. However, it did not take long to spot the wires poking out of the icy sheet.

"So, this is where you ended up? Kaku."

The figure pulled off her hat to reveal the silver hair of Heidi. She took a deep breath in, taking up all the smells of blood and metal that still hung in the air.

"So what can you tell me?"

She quickly spun her scythe in front of her and with a slight glow on her blades she willed the snow to melt and revealed more of the mass of wires which were still in the night air.

"Lady Jashin, hear my prayer for I seldom ask for much yet in return I remain your ever-loyal servant. Oh, grant me the tale of this ones' death." She called to the heavens and then fell silent with her eyes closed. Jashin was the goddess of destruction and death. Being a god allowed command over such fields of existence and so her prayers were answered silently but truthfully.

"Three males…"

She snorted a laugh. "Jiraiya was here."

Then the final truth. "And Hinata." With that, Heidi burst out in a pained laughter. It almost sounded forced as her body shook and blood ran down her nose. "Thank you Lady Jashin, I swear an oath to sacrifice someone in your name before the day is dawned." She took another deep sniff. "I can smell that other male, yet he was not here."

She was about to turn and leave her 'friend' to vanish from the world entirely. As she turned she noticed an arrow imbedded into one of Haku's ceramic masks. Brown fletching with red tips.


End file.
